Asian shares were mixed on Monday as investors turned their attention to global politics and evaluated weekend election results from Germany and New Zealand.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6 per cent to 20,414.93 but South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4 per cent to 2,380.38. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8 per cent to 27,655.32, reports AP.
The Shanghai Composite in mainland China fell 0.3 per cent to 3,342.71. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3 per cent to 5,699.90.
Major US benchmarks ended little changed on Friday. The S&P 500 index rose less than 0.1 per cent to 2,502.22. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 22,349.59.
The Nasdaq composite added less than 0.1 per cent to 6,426.92.
Oil futures started the week lower. Benchmark US crude lost 10 cents to $50.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract rose 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to settle at $50.66 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slipped 9 cents to $56.33 a barrel in London.
The dollar strengthened to 112.29 from 111.99 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1932 from $1.1947.