BEIJING: Asian stock markets were mixed Monday following Wall Street’s losing week as investors looked ahead to a week of data releases and public comments by central bankers.
KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 3,446.17 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent to 22,547.06. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.3 percent to 29,202.36 while Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.4 percent to 2,534.02. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 retreated 0.2 percent to 6,014.40 and India’s Sensex shed 0.2 percent to 33,230.32. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta rose while Taiwan and Bangkok declined.
WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell for a second day Friday — the first time that has happened in a record-setting month. Medical device slumped after a Citigroup analyst said Amazon might be on the verge of shaking up their industry by speeding up distribution and cutting prices. Energy companies gave up some recent gains while retailers, media companies and household goods companies moved higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.1 percent to 2,582.30, finishing the week down 0.2 percent after setting a record Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 0.2 percent to 23,422.21. The Nasdaq composite turned higher and rose 0.89 points to 6,750.94.
WEEK AHEAD: Central banker Haruhiko Kuroda of Japan inaugurates a data-heavy week with a speech Monday, followed Tuesday by public comments from Janet Yellen of the United States, Mark Carney of Britain and Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank. The United States reports inflation and retail sales on Wednesday, while Japan reports factory output. U.S. factory output data follow on Thursday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 7 cents to $56.81 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 43 cents on Friday to close at $56.74. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 7 cents to $63.59 in London. It lost 39 cents the previous session to $63.52.
CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 113.67 yen from Friday’s 113.21 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1651 from $1.1643.
