Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as Russia-Ukraine tensions keep investors cautious

Key Points

• Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday morning trade.
• Japan’s economy expanded 5.4% on an annualized basis in the final quarter of 2021, according to government data released Tuesday. Still, the quarterly annualized gross domestic product growth was below a median market forecast for a 5.8% gain, according to Reuters.
• Global markets have been kept on edge amid fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine, with the U.S. closing its embassy in Kyiv.

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday morning trade as investors in the region continue to monitor tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Japanese stocks shed earlier gains and fell into negative territory, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.45% while the Topix index declined 0.38%.

Japan’s economy expanded 5.4% on an annualized basis in the final quarter of 2021, according to government data released Tuesday. Still, the quarterly annualized gross domestic product growth was below a median market forecast for a 5.8% gain, according to Reuters.

Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite 0.16% lower and the Shenzhen component advanced 0.295%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.53% lower.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi rose fractionally while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.51%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.19% lower.

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Global markets have been kept on edge amid fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine, with the U.S. closing its embassy in Kyiv.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 171.89 points to 34,566.17 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.38% to 4,401.67. The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 13,790.92.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	26993.7	-85.89	-0.32
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	24504.06	-52.51	-0.21
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7230.3	-13.6	-0.19
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3441.34	12.46	0.36
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2698.19	-6.29	-0.23
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	9777.51	-31.29	-0.32

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.21 following its bounce last week from levels below 95.5.

The Japanese yen traded at 115.32 per dollar, weaker than levels below 115.2 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7121, struggling to recover after last week’s decline from above $0.72.

Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.52% to $95.98 per barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.59% to $94.90 per barrel.

Source : CNBC