Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as investors monitor Ukraine situation; oil falls more than 2%

Key Points

• Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade.
• January employment data released Thursday showed Australia adding 12,900 jobs for that month, above market forecasts for a flat outcome, according to Reuters.
• NATO on Wednesday accused Russia of increasing the number of troops it has gathered at the Ukrainian border, a day after Moscow claimed it had begun withdrawing some of its military units.

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding Ukraine.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan declined 0.37% while the Topix index shed 0.46%.

Japan’s January exports came in far below expectations, with official data released Thursday showing a 9.6% year-on-year rise for that month. That was against expectations by economists for a 16.5% gain, according to Reuters.

Mainland Chinese stocks declined, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.3% and the Shenzhen component shedding 0.284%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose about 0.5%.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.19%.

Shares in Australia rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.71%.

Australia added 12,900 jobs for January, data released Thursday showed. That was above market forecasts for a flat outcome, according to Reuters. The country’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in line with expectations from a Reuters poll.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.38% higher.

In geopolitical developments, NATO on Wednesday accused Russia of increasing the number of troops it has gathered at the Ukrainian border, a day after Moscow claimed it had begun withdrawing some of its military units.

 A senior Biden administration official told reporters that as many as 7,000 troops have joined the 150,000 already near the border in recent days, according to a NBC News report.

Travel stocks in Singapore rise

Travel stocks in Singapore rose in Thursday trade, after the country’s authorities announced Wednesday plans to allow quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated visitors when the omicron wave has passed.

Shares of Singapore Airlines gained 1.69% in morning trade, while Sats jumped 2.65%.

The broader Straits Times index in Singapore also traded higher, rising 0.54%.

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Oil drops more than 2%

Oil prices dropped in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures 2.39% lower at $92.54 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 2.47% to $91.35 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.827 following a recent decline from above 96.

The Japanese yen traded at 115.49 per dollar, stronger than levels above 115.6 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7203, continuing its general upward trek since a bounce from below $0.71 earlier this week.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	27420.48	-39.92	-0.15
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	24781.68	62.78	0.25
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7328.7	43.8	0.6
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3477.82	11.99	0.35
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2768.9	39.22	1.44
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	9936.74	27.86	0.28

Source : CNBC