Asian shares are mixed following US holiday quiet, crude oil prices rise

TOKYO / WAM

Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after US. markets were closed for the Memorial Day holiday. Oil prices and U.S. futures were higher, Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Chinese markets rose after senior leaders of the ruling Communist Party met and affirmed Beijing’s determination to contain financial risks. Hong Kong’s benchmark was buoyed by gains for technology shares.
On May 27, European shares posted modest gains as markets were lifted by a rebound on Wall Street on Friday following its worst day since April. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent to 38,795.07 and the Kospi in Seoul inched 0.1 percent higher, to 2,726.82. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2 percent to 7,776.80.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 percent higher to 3,126.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8 percent to 18,982.31. The Chinese government recently eased interest rates and downpayment requirements for housing loans as part of its effort to revive the property sector after a crackdown on excessive borrowing caused defaults among many developers.
The housing industry plays a huge role in driving the economy and its troubles have weighed on growth. The meetings led by Chinese President Xi Jinping “noted that preventing and defusing financial risks is a major challenge that must be overcome in order to achieve high-quality development, as it concerns national security, overall development and the safety of the people’s property,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Efforts to strengthen oversight “should be implemented strictly to send a strong signal that any violator will be held accountable, so that financial oversight will actually have ‘teeth and thorns’ and be sharp-pointed,” Xinhua said. On May 24, the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by less than 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq composite gained 1.1 percent to top its all-time high set earlier last week. In other trading, US benchmark crude oil gained $1.03 to $78.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 4 cents to $82.92 per barrel.