Asia-Pacific markets perform mixed, Australia sets new record

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region showed mixed outcomes on Wednesday, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index reaching a record high, while increasing business confidence among major Japanese companies boosted Japanese stocks.

The Reuters Tankan Manufacturing Sector Index increased to +11, up from +6 the previous month. Conversely, the non-manufacturing sector confidence index dropped to +26 from +31.

 

Japanese authorities likely intervened in the currency market on Thursday and Friday, spending approximately 6 trillion yen ($37.9 billion) over those days, Reuters reported.

The yen-US dollar exchange rate is currently at 158.36. The currency weakened to 161.82 last Wednesday but strengthened to 157.41 the following day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index decreased by 0.43%, closing at 41,097.69, while the Topix index increased by 0.37%, reaching 2,915.21.

Australia’s main index ended the day up 0.73%, closing at 8,057.9. Shares of gold miners Northern Star Resources and Bellevue Gold rose over 3% and nearly 2%, respectively. Shares of Evolution Mining and Newmont Corporation also climbed more than 2%.

South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 0.8%, closing at 2,843, while the Kosdaq small-cap index dropped 1.21%, ending at 829.41.

 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.15% in the final trading hour, while China’s CSI 300 Index increased slightly to finish the session at 3,501.58.

Taiwan’s overall index decreased by 0.77% following a report in which U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump emphasized the necessity for the U.S. to finance Taiwan's defense.

“I know this nation well and have a lot of respect for them. They took almost all of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense,” Trump said in a Bloomberg Businessweek interview in June, published Tuesday.

Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Chung-Tai stated that Taiwan is aiming to be “more responsible” for its defense, gradually increasing its defense budget, Reuters reported.

Shares of Taiwanese chip maker TSMC fell by 2.36%.

 

On Wednesday, HSBC Holdings announced Georges Elderi’s appointment as group chief executive officer, effective September 2. Elderi, currently the company’s chief financial officer, will succeed Noel Quinn. Bank shares fell slightly in Hong Kong.

Singapore’s exports, excluding oil, declined more than anticipated in June, marking the fifth straight month of decline. They fell by 8.7 percent year-on-year, compared to an expected 1.2 percent decline, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

 

A monthly measure of Singapore’s export sector, excluding oil, unexpectedly fell by 0.4 percent, compared to an expected 4.1 percent rise.

Overnight, Wall Street recorded gains amid optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut. The Dow Jones Index rose by 1.85 percent, closing at a record high of 40,954.48, while the S&P 500 Index climbed by 0.64 percent to finish at 5,667.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 0.20 percent.

- CNBC’s Piya Singh contributed to this report.

Clarification: This article has been updated to reflect revisions to the Tankan non-manufacturing survey data from Reuters.