Hong Kong - Asian shares were mixed Wednesday following a sharp correction overnight in the dollar that sapped investor momentum.
Keeping score
: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index recouped earlier losses, rising 0.4 percent to 18,894.37 while South Korea's Kospi was flat at 2,071.17. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.2 percent to 23,107.97 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China added 0.3 percent to 3,118.83. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent to 5,678.80. Benchmarks in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.
Dollar's dive
: The dollar was levelling off in Asian trading after slumping overnight against most of its peers, including the yen, euro and pound. One factor behind the currency fluctuations was British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech about Britain's pending departure from the European Union, which soothed investors following months of uncertainty about the plan for an exit following the June vote. Comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about the dollar being "too strong," hurting U.S competitiveness with China, also added downward pressure on the greenback. Trump's comments were published in the Wall Street Journal Monday but didn't have a big impact until U.S. investors returned to work Tuesday after a long weekend.
Quoteworthy:
Initial investor optimism over Trump's promises to bring in business-friendly policies has been waning as reality sets in, suggested Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore. "The market has been anticipating better clarity into the economic plans of the new administration for months and weeks, expected to come as President-elect Donald Trump steps into office" on Friday, said Pan. "Last Wednesday's press conference and the latest set of comments from ... Trump have probably been a preview for more volatility instead as the market stands ready to adjust expectations."
Hong Kong higher:
The Chinese financial hub's benchmark index surged as local stocks were poised to benefit from the dollar's weakness via the city's currency peg to the dollar, which makes shares more attractive for investors and fund managers using other currencies.
Wall Street:
Major US benchmarks ended lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3 percent to 19,826.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.3 percent to 2,267.89. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.6 percent to 5,538.73.
Currency trading
: The British pound, which rose 1.3 percent against the dollar after May's speech, eased to $1.2338 from $1.2393 in late trading Tuesday. The dollar edged up to 113.25 yen from 112.79 yen, but is down 1.4 percent for the week so far against the Japanese currency. The euro slipped to $1.0686 from $1.070.
Energy
: Benchmark US crude oil rose 19 cents to $52.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $52.48 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, climbed 20 cents to $55.67.