Asian Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade

Asian stocks ended Monday’s session on a mixed note as investors weighed the implications of surging energy prices and risks from the Chinese financial system.

China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 30.24 points, or 0.84 percent, to 3,582.83 as virus and Evergrande worries weighed. A ban on crypto trading also dented sentiment.

Materials stocks led declines on worries that power curbs are hurting manufacturing.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended little changed at 24,208.78 ahead of official and private gauges of Chinese manufacturing due out Thursday, expected to add to evidence of sputtering growth.

Japanese markets gave up early gains to end marginally lower as investors awaited a vote on Wednesday that will decide who will be country’s next prime minister after incumbent Yoshihide Suga.

Shippers fell sharply while shares of airlines and railway operators surged on hopes that they would benefit from an economic reopening as the COVID-19 infection situation improves.

Australian markets advanced, with miners and energy stocks climbing as crude oil and iron ore prices surged. Sentiment was also lifted following the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions in most regional areas.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 41.60 points, or 0.57 percent, to 7,384.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 41.40 points, or 0.54 percent, at 7,690.70.

Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Mineral Resources climbed 1-3 percent. Woodside Petroleum surged 3.2 percent, while Oil Search and Santos both rallied around 2 percent.

Banks also ended broadly higher, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia climbing as much as 2.8 percent. Qantas Airways gained 2.8 percent, Flight Centre jumped 7.5 percent and Webjet added 5.2 percent as investors looked ahead to the reopening of the states.

Seoul stocks edged higher as foreign investors extended their buying streak for an eighth straight session. The benchmark Kospi inched up 8.40 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 3,133.64.

Shinwon, , an apparel maker with a presence in the Kaesong industrial zone in North Korea, surged 16.2 percent as hopes for inter-Korean cooperation rose over the weekend.

New Zealand shares ended slightly lower as Synlait posted its first annual loss since listing eight years ago, but said it expects to return to “robust profitability” this year. Synlait shares jumped 7.9 percent while the benchmark NZX-50 index slipped 31.85 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 13,227.70.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending narrowly mixed on Friday amid concerns relating to the debt woes of China Evergrande Group and a looming federal debt-ceiling in the U.S.

The Dow ended flat with a positive bias and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.