Asian Shares Mixed As Investors Look To Economic Readings, Earnings

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings, economic releases and speeches by central bank officials at the Davos World Economic Forum meeting 2024.

The dollar and Treasury yields were little changed in Asian trade amid a public holiday in the U.S. Gold ticked higher due to lingering Middle East tensions and early Fed rate cut hopes.

Efforts to fund the U.S. government saw a small sign of relief after congressional leaders agreed on another stopgap spending bill.

Oil prices rose as concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East outweighed a weaker fundamental outlook.

Chinese shares eked out modest gains ahead of Q4 GDP data and a slew of monthly figures due this week, expected to show the country's economic recovery remains fragile.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed 0.15 percent higher at 2,886.29, giving up some early gains as China's central bank left the interest rate unchanged but boosted liquidity in the banking system through reverse repos and medium-term lending facility.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.17 percent to 16,216.33 as the U.S. response to the Taiwan election result sparked an angry response from China.

Lai Ching-te, a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy, on Saturday won a historic third consecutive term for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), shrugging off warnings from Beijing that his election would increase the risk of conflict.

Japanese shares rose notably to extend their record-breaking rally, with financials and shippers leading the surge.

The Nikkei average climbed 0.91 percent to 35,901.79, after having crossed the 36,000 mark for the first time in 34 years earlier.

The broader Topix index settled 1.22 percent higher at 2,524.60 amid a retreat in U.S. bond yields and a stabilization in the yen exchange.

Seoul stocks fluctuated before finishing on a flat note. The Kospi average finished marginally higher at 2,525.99 after eight straight days of declines.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.1 percent while car battery makers Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution dropped 2-3 percent.

Australian markets fluctuated before finishing marginally lower as falling iron ore prices weighed on the mining sector. Investors also awaited a set of labour market data due for release on Wednesday.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index fell 0.72 percent to 11,772.90.

U.S. stocks ended little changed on Friday as investors reacted to mixed corporate earnings and cooler-than-expected producer price inflation data.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both inched up marginally while the Dow slipped 0.3 percent.