Asian shares mixed ahead of BoK policy statement


FE Team | Published: July 31, 2018 11:07:10 | Updated: August 02, 2018 09:49:57


File Photo (Collected)

Asian share markets were mixed on Tuesday with narrow trading ahead of a key statement by the Bank of Japan, which could indicate a tightening of its monetary policy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.3 per cent to 22,476.72 and South Korea's Kospi was flat at 2,293.43. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.1 per cent to 2,872.92.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.3 per cent to 28,650.72. Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.1 per cent to 6,284.20. Shares fell in Indonesia but were higher in Taiwan and Singapore.

Technology stocks have tumbled for the third day in a row, leading US indexes to close lower.

Microsoft and Alphabet slumped Monday and Facebook, Twitter and Netflix have all fallen at least 20 per cent from their record highs earlier this month.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.6 per cent to 2,802.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6 per cent to 25,306.83. The Nasdaq composite gave up 1.4 per cent 7,630.00.

Benchmark US crude rose 2 cents to $70.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 2.1 percent to settle at $70.13 per barrel on Monday.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 11 cents to $75.44, reports AP.

The dollar rose to 111.07 yen from 111.00 yen on Monday. The euro remained flat at $1.1710.

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