Asian Shares Mixed On China Optimism

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as geopolitical concerns surrounding Russia eased somewhat and China's premier said growth is accelerating in the world's second-largest economy.

In a late-night televised speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine and its Western allies of deliberately provoking Russians to turn against each other during the recent short-lived mutiny led by mercenaries of the Wagner group.

Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin also said that his intention was not to dethrone the Putin government.

Elsewhere, Premier Li Qiang, China's No. 2 leader, said today that economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter and could hit the official target of 5 percent for the year.

Chinese shares climbed after the Bloomberg reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to visit China in early July for the first high-level economic talks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index settled 1.23 percent higher at 3,189.44 ahead of industrial profits, manufacturing and non-manufacturing data due this week, which could provide hints for further stimulus to bolster growth. Property stocks rallied on news of a potential buyout of a developer.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.88 percent to 19,148.13 after five consecutive sessions of losses. Tech stocks soared despite Wall Street's tech sell-off overnight. Japanese shares fell for a fourth straight session as tech stocks followed their U.S. peers lower on concerns about interest rates staying higher for longer.

The Nikkei average shed 0.49 percent to close at 32,538.33, after having surged to a 33-year high last week. The broader Topix index ended down 0.28 percent at 2,253.81.

Softbank Group, Advantest and CyberAgent fell 2-4 percent. Shipping stocks outperformed, with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rallying more than 11 percent, while Nippon Yusen and Mitsui OSK Lines rose 3-4 percent.

Seoul stocks cut early losses to finish marginally lower, with the Kospi average ending down 0.81 point at 2,581.39 ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at a forum this week.

Auto stocks buked the weak trend, with Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis climbing 2.7 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Australian markets advanced to snap a four-day losing streak as investors awaited inflation and retail sales data due later in the week for clues to RBA's rate moves in August.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.56 percent to close at 7,118.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.49 percent higher at 7,300, led by banks and miners.

Medibank lost 3.9 percent after Australia's banking regulator told the insurer that it would have to set aside $167 million in extra capital following data breach.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished marginally higher at 11,649.20.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday as growth worries lingered and a short-lived mutiny in Russia by the Wagner paramilitary group revived concerns over nuclear arsenal security.

The Dow ended little changed with a negative bias and the S&P 500 shed half a percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2 percent as the U.S. yield curve inversion accelerated to near-historic levels.