SINGAPORE — Stock in Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed, with South Korean stocks surging again on the back of big gains last week.
South Korea’s Kospi, which had a stellar start to 2021 as it jumped nearly 10% in the first trading week of the year, rose 2.48%.
Shares in South Korea’s auto sector surged again on Monday following a local media report that Hyundai Motor and Apple are set to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars, according to Reuters.
Hyundai Motor shares soared 12.6% while Hyundai Mobis gained 4.45%. Kia Motors also jumped more than 6%. Shares of Hyundai Motor popped more than 19% on Friday following an initial report surrounding the Apple deal.
Mainland Chinese stocks, on the other hand, slipped: The Shanghai composite declined 0.27% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.691%.
China’s producer price index fell 0.4% in December as compared to a year earlier, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That was a smaller decline than the 0.8% fall expected in a median forecast of a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, China’s consumer price index rose 0.2% year-on-year in December, against expectations of a 0.1% increase in a Reuters poll.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.53%.
Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.58%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.2% higher.
Markets in Japan are closed on Monday for a holiday.
Developments on the coronavirus front will likely continue to be monitored by investors and could weigh on sentiment. In the U.S., nearly 3,000 people are dying every day, on average, of Covid-19.
In Asia, a jump in coronavirus infections has prompted the Japanese government to place multiple areas in the country —including Tokyo — under a state of emergency.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.388 after a recent rise from levels below 89.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.17 per dollar after weakening last week from levels below 103 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was at $0.771 following levels above $0.78 seen last week.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.75% to $55.57 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped 0.38% to $52.04 per barrel.
Source: CNBC