{"id":12136,"date":"2021-07-23T08:32:02","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T08:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/07\/23\/asian-shares-mixed-in-cautious-trade-9\/"},"modified":"2021-07-23T08:32:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T08:32:02","slug":"asian-shares-mixed-in-cautious-trade-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/07\/23\/asian-shares-mixed-in-cautious-trade-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite strong earnings from U.S. companies and dovish signals from the European Central Bank.<\/p>\n

The European Central Bank said it would keep its accommodative policies, including its ultra-low interest rates, until inflation “durably” exceeds its 2 percent inflation target.<\/p>\n

Chinese and Hong Kong shares fell after reports emerged that Beijing is planning hefty penalties on Didi Global for listing its shares in the U.S. in June. <\/p>\n

China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 24.34 points, or 0.68 percent, to 3,550.40 while the Hang Seng index ended down 401.86 points, or 1.45 percent, at 27,321.98.<\/p>\n

Australian markets<\/span> fluctuated before ending little changed after a survey showed the services sector in the country fell hard into contraction territory in July. <\/p>\n

COVID-19 worries also weighed, with an Australian state government declaring an emergency due to a virus outbreak in Sydney.<\/p>\n

The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 inched up 8 points, or 0.11 percent, to 7,394.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 12 points, or 0.16 percent, at 7,670.90. <\/p>\n

Tech stocks gained ground, with Afterpay, Appen and Xero rising 1-2 percent. Zip advanced 1.4 percent on reports that the buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm is looking to provide users a chance to trade in cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac fell around 1 percent each. Casino operator Crown Resorts dropped 2.2 percent after Star Entertainment withdrew its takeover bid.
Gold miner Evolution surged 4.4 percent after successfully completing its institutional placement.<\/p>\n

Seoul stocks ended higher for the second straight session on optimism for strong earnings and hopes that central banks will continue their monetary policy support for some more time. <\/p>\n

The Kospi average rose 4.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to 3,254.42 as the government extended virus curbs in greater Seoul for another two weeks.<\/p>\n

Internet portal giant Naver rallied 2.7 percent and pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics rose 1 percent while leading carmaker Hyundai Motor lost 1.3 percent.<\/p>\n

New Zealand shares swung between gains and losses before ending slightly higher for the day. The benchmark NZX 50 index edged up 15.48 points, 0.12 percent, to 12,736.32.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks rose for a third day running on Thursday, though markets finished off their highs on the back of mixed earnings updates and data showing an unexpected jump in jobless claims. <\/p>\n

The Dow inched up 0.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n