SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly up Wednesday but shares on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong lost ground.
Australia's ASX 200 advanced 0.49%, with most sectors trading higher. Major banking stocks reversed earlier losses to trade higher: ANZ shares rose 0.09%, the National Australia Bank added 0.19%, Westpac was up 0.36% while Commonwealth Bank shares advanced 0.58%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 retraced most of its earlier gains, but still traded fractionally higher. The Topix index rose 0.38%.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.17%, giving up some of its earlier gains. Samsung Electronics shares dipped 0.47% after the chip and smartphone maker issued earnings guidance for the first three months of 2021.
Samsung said it estimated operating profit for the quarter at 9.3 trillion Korean won ($8.3 billion), up 44% from a year ago. The company did not give detailed breakdown, which are due at the end of this month.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.65% as the market returned to trade after being closed since Friday.
Chinese mainland shares also traded lower: The Shanghai composite was down 0.53% while the Shenzhen component fell 1.14%.
Wednesday's session follows overnight losses on Wall Street, where U.S. stocks fell from record levels.
"US equities softened while European indices outperformed after being closed on Monday. News that half the European population will be able to be vaccinated by June was a shot in the arm for the markets," analysts at ANZ Research said in a morning note.
The World Bank/International Monetary Fund spring meeting is underway virtually.
The IMF revised up its forecast for the world economy. On Tuesday, the organization said it expects growth at 6% in 2021, up from a January prediction of 5.5%, and Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said that despite lingering uncertainties around the pandemic, a "way out of this health and economic crisis is increasingly visible."
Analysts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a Wednesday note that they do not expect the World Bank/IMF meeting to be a major driver of financial markets.
"Financial markets are much calmer than this time last year. So there is no impetus for Finance ministers (Treasury secretaries) to get together with a hard hitting communique to support confidence in the economic recovery or financial system," they wrote.
Currencies and oil
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar last traded at 92.328 against a basket of its peers. The dollar index slipped from levels near 93.200 reached in the previous week.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 109.75 per dollar, strengthening from an earlier level around 109.89. The Australian dollar traded down 0.13% at $0.7652.
Oil prices retraced earlier losses and traded up Wednesday during Asian trading hours. U.S. crude was higher by 0.46% at $59.60 a barrel while global benchmark Brent were up 0.49% to $63.05.
In the previous session, strong economic data from the U.S. and China helped lift energy prices higher by more than 1%.
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April 07, 2021 at 06:53AM
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Asia Pacific markets mostly higher; shares in Hong Kong and mainland China lose ground - CNBC
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