Asian shares turn higher amid US threat


FE Team | Published: April 06, 2018 11:59:35 | Updated: April 09, 2018 11:57:03


File Photo (Collected)

Asian share markets mostly turned higher on Friday amid the worries about the Trump administration’s latest threats of yet more tariffs on Chinese imports.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 per cent higher to 21,672.94 while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.4 per cent to 2,427.21. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 crept 0.1 per cent higher to 5,783.40.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.1 per cent to 29,852.93 after trading resumed following a holiday as investors caught up with the previous day’s global gains.

Singapore’s share index rose while Indonesia’s fell. Mainland Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday, reports AP.

Major US benchmarks ended higher. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.7 per cent to 2,662.84. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1 per cent to 24,505.22. The Nasdaq composite added 0.5 per cent to 7,076.55.

Benchmark US crude fell 34 cents to $63.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 17 cents to settle at $63.54 a barrel on Thursday.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 31 cents to $68.02 per barrel in London.

The dollar slipped to 107.25 yen from 107.40 yen. The euro rose to $1.2245 from $1.2241.

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