Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday despite gains on Wall Street after the United States’ Saturday strike on Venezuela.
By 12:10 pm AEDT, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 had fallen 0.5% to 8,679.50 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.5% to 52,067.41 and South Korea’s Kospi 200 dropped 1.1% to 641.33.
Australia’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dipped to 51, down from 52.6 but similar to estimates of 51.1. Singapore’s December PMI also declined to 54.1.
In the United States, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2%, reaching a new record, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.7%.
Brent crude prices increased by 1.5% to US$61.76 per barrel. The U.S. government will meet executives from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss investments to boost Venezuela’s oil production, Reuters reported.
Spot gold was up 2% to $4,430.27 per ounce.
The Shanghai Composite rose by 1.4% to 4,023.42 and the CSI 300 increased by 1.9% to 4,717.75.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was largely flat at 26,347.24, while India’s BSE Sensex shed 0.4% to 85,439.62.
European markets gained, with the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 up 0.5% to 10,004.57, Germany’s DAX rose 1.3% to 24,868.69 and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.2% to 8,211.50.
