Asian shares were mixed on Thursday with some benchmarks erasing early morning gains. Investors remained skittish after this week’s financial turmoil and overnight losses on Wall Street.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent to 21,700.94 while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.7 per cent to 2,414.26. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.6 per cent to 30,512.92, reports AP.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6 per cent to 3,290.62. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat at 5,876.30. Stocks in Taiwan were almost unchanged and Southeast Asian markets were mixed.
The S&P 500 index lost 0.5 per cent to 2,681.66. The Dow edged 0.1 per cent lower to 24,893.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.9 per cent to 7,051.98.
Oil prices have seen extended losses since the US government said last week that oil production jumped. Benchmark US crude lost 21 cents to $61.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.60, or 2.5 per cent, to finish at $61.79 a barrel on Wednesday.
Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, dropped 15 cents to $65.36 per barrel in London. It sank $1.35, or 2.0 per cent, to finish at $65.51 a barrel in the previous session.
The dollar edged up to 109.38 yen from 109.33 yen. The euro fell to $1.2280 from $1.2392.