Stocks in Asia were mostly higher on Monday following a report suggesting further turmoil for the markets in 2019.
The Nikkei 225 restored 132.05 points, or 0.6%, to end Monday at 21,506.88
Shares of conglomerate Softbank recovered from earlier losses during the session to gain 0.5% ahead of the anticipated public listing of its mobile unit on Dec. 19.
The Japanese yen, widely viewed as a safe-haven currency, traded at 113.40 against the U.S. dollar after touching highs around 112.3 last week.
Renault’s deputy CEO, Thierry Bollore, wrote a letter to Nissan urging the Japanese automaker to hold a shareholder meeting, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
In the letter, Bollore cited the arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo last month as a "significant risk" to the car makers’ partnership. Ghosn was apprehended in November on suspicions of underreporting income and misusing company funds.
Ghosn is considered the mastermind behind the alliance between French automaker Renault and Japanese manufacturers Nissan and Mitsubishi. Renault saved Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy in 1999, and took a 40% stake in the company.
Shares of Nissan slipped 0.3% on Monday while Mitsubishi fell 1.2%
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index eased back 6.81 points to 26,087.98
Australian markets were positive, with almost all sectors in positive territory.
The heavily-weighted financial subindex, however, slipped 0.1%, with shares of Australia’s so-called Big Four banks mostly seeing losses. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group dropped 1.6% Westpac shed 0.9% and National Australia Bank slipped 0.6% Commonwealth Bank of Australia, on the other hand, recovered from earlier losses to rise 0.7%
The Australian dollar was at $0.7176 U.S. after seeing highs around the $0.724 handle in the previous trading week.
The Bank of International Settlements, an umbrella group for the world’s central banks, said on Sunday that recent market tensions are a sign of more turmoil to come. It warned that a normalization of monetary policy is likely to trigger a flurry of sharp selloffs in the near future.
The report comes at a time when stocks worldwide have come under renewed pressure from a myriad of factors, ranging from a global trade war between the world’s two largest economies, to intensifying concerns about a possible economic slowdown over the coming months.
CHINA
The mainland Chinese markets were mixed by the end of their trading day after the country reported lower than expected economic data last Friday.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 4.71 points, or 0.2%, to 3,114.25
Investors were setting their sights on key policy meetings in the coming week — ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate meeting and as China on Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the country’s reforms under former leader Deng Xiaoping.
President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a major speech on Monday. It comes as Beijing’s trade war with Washington spurs government advisors and think tanks to urge for urgent reforms in Asia’s largest economy.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index waned 84.6 points, or 0.9%, to 9,774.16
In Korea, the Kospi index pointed upward 1.71 points, or 0.1%, at 2,071.09
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 37.16 points, or 1.2%, to 3,114.25
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 23.08 points, or 0.3%, to 8,745.59
In Australia, the ASX 200 restocked 56.27 points, or 1%, to 5,658.27
