TOKYO: Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, following the drop of technology shares last week on Wall Street. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 per cent in morning trading to 19,941.80. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.9 per cent to 2,359.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.1 per cent to 25,756.52, while the Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.5 per cent to 3,144.30. Trading was closed in Australia for a national holiday.
Market players are watching central banks’ meetings in Great Britain and the U.S. later this week. Analysts say the Fed is likely to raise interest rates, while the Bank of England is expected to keep them unchanged. The Bank of Japan is also meeting on monetary policy later this week, but little is expected to impact markets, they say. The S&P 500 index fell 2.02 points, or 0.1 per cent, to end the week at 2,431.77. The Dow gained 89.44 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 21,271.97. The Nasdaq declined 113.85 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 6,207.92. The Russell 2000 picked up 6.09 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,421.71. The indexes also closed out the week unevenly after several days of trading in a mostly narrow range.
Benchmark U.S. crude added 23 cents to $46.06 a barrel. It gained 19 cents to $45.83 a barrel in New York last week. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 25 cents to $48.40 a barrel in London. The pound lost more than 2 cents versus the dollar after the Conservatives lost their majority in Parliament, which could create disarray in Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, due to start June 19. The pound was slightly higher at $1.2756 from $1.2721. The dollar weakened to 110.25 yen from 110.36 late Friday in Asia.
