Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Asia markets traded mixed on Thursday, with shares of Japanese electronics maker Toshiba tumbling nearly 16 per cent after a report suggested it was considering the sale of its semiconductor business.
Toshiba shares slipped 15.98 per cent at market close to 242.3 yen, after the Nikkei financial daily reported the company was considering spinning off its semiconductor business and selling a partial stake in the unit to US data storage firm Western Digital. Toshiba later said in a statement the report from Nikkei was not “based on any announcements” by the company, reports CNBC.
Elsewhere, Samsung Group shares pulled back slightly after initially jumping at the South Korean market open, after a court dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the conglomerate, Jay Y. Lee, amid his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that saw the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
Shares of Samsung Electronics closed up 1.5 per cent; Samsung Electro-Mechanics finished down 0.8 per cent, while Samsung C&T shares advanced 0.8 per cent.
Samsung SDI dropped 6.2 per cent and Samsung Engineering shares fell 2.7 per cent.
Despite the pullback in Samsung shares, the benchmark Kospi closed up 2.25 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 2,072.79.
Reuters reported South Korea’s special prosecutor’s office said it had not decided whether to make another arrest warrant request for Samsung’s Lee, after the previous request was rejected by the court.
In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average climbed 177.88 points, or 0.94 percent, to 19,072.25, as export-oriented shares received a boost from a relatively weaker yen.
The yen traded at 114.59 against the dollar at 2:36 p.m. HK/SIN, weakening from levels below 113.00 briefly touched in the previous session.
Major exporters jumped, with Toyota advancing 1.77 per cent, Honda climbing 2.50 percent and electronics maker Sharp gaining 4.59 per cent.
Takata shares were suspended from trading on Thursday according to the Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
It followed media reports from Nikkei financial daily that said two potential sponsors for Takata’s rehabilitation plan were asking for court involvement in the process, a move that was supported by automakers that have shouldered the cost of recalling the company’s faulty air bags.
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 13.43 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 5,692.18. Shares of Bega Cheese led gains across the benchmark index, climbing 15.18 per cent to A$5.16, after the company said Mondelez International would sell most of its grocery business in Australia and New Zealand, including the popular Vegemite food spread brand, to Bega Cheese for $344.68 million.
Chinese mainland shares retreated in the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite closing down 11.31 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 3,101.70, and the Shenzhen composite slipping 7.13 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 1,857.45.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 0.33 per cent in late-afternoon trading.
Elsewhere, in prepared remarks, Janet Yellen said the US economy was closing in on the central bank’s goals, giving it impetus to start reducing the extreme levels of support it has provided over the past decade.
“Right now our foot is still pressing on the gas pedal, though, as I noted, we have eased back a bit,” said Yellen.
Meanwhile, the Fed also released its latest Beige Book, which said that a pickup in manufacturing, “widespread” reports of labor shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the Fed’s December rate hike.
Remarks from Yellen, stronger US data and a positive Beige book pushed the dollar higher against a basket of currencies, with the greenback trading at 101.260 at 2:39 p.m. HK/SIN on Thursday, up from levels near 100.32 but still lower than levels above 102.40 reached last week.
“Unless Donald Trump attacks the dollar again on Friday, we have seen the end to a month of losses in the greenback,” said Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, in a note.
Among other currency majors, the euro traded at $1.0641 against the dollar, the Australian dollar fetched $0.7530, while Cable was at $1.2280.
Oil prices advanced in Asian trade on Thursday, after declining in the previous session likely on the back of the dollar rebound. Brent crude added 0.91 per cent to $54.41 a barrel, after finishing down 2.79 per cent on Wednesday.
US crude added 0.86 per cent to $51.52 a barrel, after slipping 2.67 per cent overnight.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.05 points, or 0.11 per cent, to close at 19,804.72, while the S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.18 per cent, to end at 2,271.89 and the Nasdaq rose 16.93 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 5,542.
BBN/SK/AD