SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday trade after the Pentagon added more Chinese firms to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies.
Mainland Chinese stocks fell, with the Shanghai composite shed around 0.4% while the Shenzhen component declined 0.214%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was also down about 0.23%.
Chinas largest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and oil producer CNOOC were among firms added to the blacklist. Trading in the Hong Kong-listed shares of SMIC was halted on the back of that news, with the stock last down more than 2% after 3 minutes of trading. CNOOC, or China National Offshore Oil Corp., also saw its Hong Kong-listed stock fall about 1.8%.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi led gains among the region’s major markets and jumped 1.4%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.44% while the Topix was 0.19% lower.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia edged higher, as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3%. Australia’s retail turnover rose 1.4% month-on-month in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to figures from the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.52% higher.
In other corporate developments, Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com rose nearly 2% in Friday morning trade. Reuters reported, citing sources, JD Logistics is seeking bank pitches for a Hong Kong IPO of up to $3 billion.
The development came just days after JD.com’s digital health-care unit, JD Health, raised $3.5 billion in a Hong Kong IPO. Shares of JD Health are expected to begin trading on Tuesday.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of India is also expected to announce its interest rate decision on Friday.
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Oil prices jump
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.56% to $49.47 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 1.49% to $46.32 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.696 following its decline earlier this week from levels above 91.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.83 per dollar after strengthening sharply yesterday from levels above 104 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.743, having risen from levels below $0.74 earlier in the trading week.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- India: Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision
— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC