Asia stocks lower

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Tokyo, Japan (BBN) – Shares in Asia were mixed on Tuesday, following a directionless session yesterday as major markets around the world were closed for various holidays.
The Nikkei 225 shed 0.17 percent in Tuesday trade, while the S&P/ASX 200 reversed earlier losses to trade 0.15 percent higher, reports cnbc.com.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index dipped 0.37 percent, pulling back from record highs.
Markets in Hong Kong and China are closed today for a public holiday. Stateside, markets in the U.S. were closed on Monday for Memorial Day.
Toshiba shares were down 0.65 percent. This followed news that Western Digital could join a consortium involving a Japanese state-backed fund and KKR & Co.
Shares of the Kuala Lumpur-listed Genting rose 1.64 percent after it reported first quarter earnings of 603 million Malaysian ringgit ($141 million) compared to 131 million ringgit a year ago.
Meanwhile, casino operator Genting Malaysia tumbled more than 5 percent despite reporting that net profits in the first quarter had doubled on year.
In economic news, Japan household spending dipped 1.4 percent for the month of April, weaker than the 0.7 percent forecast. Meanwhile, April retail sales rose 3.2 percent on year, compared to a forecast of a 2.3 percent rise, Reuters said.
The dollar/yen, which traded around 111.21 before the release of data, strengthened slightly after the news to trade at 111.18. Dollar/yen gained further to last trad at 110.92.
In other currency news, the dollar traded mostly flat against a basket of six rival currencies at 97.661. The dollar hit a near six and a half month low last week.
The British pound recovered after falling last week following polls showing U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May’s lead had narrowed ahead of a snap election next week. With U.K. markets closed yesterday for a bank holiday, the pound strengthened to trade at $1.2813 compared to the $1.27 handle seen last Friday.
Meanwhile, the euro remained steady following comments made by European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi while addressing the European Parliament. The euro traded at $1.1127 against the dollar.
In his speech, Draghi acknowledged growth in the euro zone but said “an extraordinary amount of monetary policy support” remained “necessary.”
“It’s now only a week out from the ECB meeting and you can’t get much clearer than that. The ECB will then unveil its new inflation forecasts; an about turn from the ECB signalling a winding down of QE would be a big surprise to the market,” National Australia Bank Senior Economist David de Garis wrote in a note.
Oil prices were mixed after ending the last session cautiously higher following reports of U.S. drillers adding rigs. Brent crude shed 0.17 percent to trade at $52.20 a barrel while U.S. West Texas International (WTI) crude added 0.14 percent to trade at $49.87.
BBN/SSK/AD