Asia: Steady yuan stabilises market
Asian stocks closed on a mixed note as China set the yuan in line with its Friday close, suggesting the government would allow market forces to move the currency.
Newcrest Mining Limited
$0.00
05:35 09/11/23
Spark New Zealand Limited ADR
$0.00
01:16 03/12/14
The Shanghai Composite rose by 0.72% while the smaller Shenzhen Composite was up 0.74%.
China’s Securities Regulator said last week that China Securities Finance Corp, the government-backed company that bought shares during the market slump last month, will not abandon its role of stabilising the market in the coming years.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.73% while Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times was down 1.2%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.49% after a better than expected preliminary second quarter GDP report.
Private consumption was weak, reflecting a slowdown in emerging economies, especially China.
Japan’s economy minister opined that bad weather and high food prices might be encouraging an increase in consumer spending but expected improvement in the next quarter.
London Capital Group said it was likely Japan might watch for a response from China before acting in respect of its slow growth. The yen was at ¥124.56 to the dollar.
Down under, the ASX closed higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.21% following strong company results from Transfield Services, which was up 6.67% and Newcrest Mining up 4.47%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was by 0.6% on positivity ahead of the local earnings season.
Telco Spark New Zealand led gainers up 4.3% while logistics firm Freightways advanced 1.8%.