Asia stocks mixed in subdued trade; Nikkei closed for holiday
Investing.com
Published Dec 23, 2010 02:51AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.77%, South Korea's Kospi Composite shed 0.03%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was closed in observance of the Emperor’s Birthday.
Shares in the energy sector performed strongly as crude oil prices rallied to a 26-month high. Shares in China’s largest oil and gas company PetroChina gained 0.41% while rivals China Shenhua Energy saw shares climb 0.35%.
Elsewhere, shares of property developers were broadly lower. Shares in the nation’s largest property developer Sino Land Company plunged 2.42%, Sun Hung Kai Properties saw shares tumble 1.12%, while shares in Hang Lung Properties slumped 0.54%.
Meanwhile, shares in machinery maker Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development soared 6.12% on its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company said in a statement that it raised net proceeds of HK 12.5 billion in an initial public offering.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.43% as shares in the mining sector gained amid rising metal prices. Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton jumped 1.42%, rivals Rio Tinto saw shares add 0.42%, while shares in coal miner Riversdale Mining surged 1.66% amid speculation of a takeover bid from Rio Tinto.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.04%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a drop of 0.12%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.09% and Germany's DAX futures were up 0.02%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data, with an official report on initial jobless claims, as well as data on personal spending, durable goods orders and new home sales.
The country was also to publish revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations as well as a report on natural gas inventories.
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Written By: Investing.com
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