China stocks lead gains in mixed session in Asia; Brent holds above $60 per barrel
Stocks in Asia-Pacific mostly advanced Tuesday with Chinese mainland shares leading gains.
The benchmark Shanghai composite rose 2.01% to 3,603.49 while the Shenzhen component advanced 2.36% to 15,630.57.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.53% in late-afternoon trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to 29,505.93.
South Korean shares slipped as the main Kospi index declined 0.21% to 3,084.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also fell 0.86% to 6,821.20, with most sectors in the red, while major indexes in India rose in afternoon trade.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 0.54%.
Brent above $60 a barrel
Oil prices rose in the afternoon during Asian trading hours. International benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.92% to $61.10, holding above the $60 per barrel mark recently crossed for the first time in more than a year. U.S. crude futures also gained about 0.74% to $58.40 per barrel.
Shares of oil companies in Asia-Pacific were mixed, with Australia’s Santos giving up gains to close down 0.28% while Beach Energy declined 2.41%. Japan’s Inpex advanced 2.87% while Fuji Oil added 1.22%. Hong Kong-listed shares of PetroChina jumped 2.93% in late-afternoon trade while CNOOC shares rose 3.49%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.52 points to close at a record high of 31,385.76. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to a fresh closing high of 3,915.59 while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% to 13,987.64, also touching a new record.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.710, struggling to recover from a recent slip from levels above 91.2.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.81 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 105.6 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7716, above levels below $0.764 seen late last week.
