The Shanghai composite dropped 0.23%, Hang Seng index added 0.88%, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.86%, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.23%
Stock in Asia-Pacific were mixed, with South Korean stocks rising again on the back of big gains last week.
South Korea’s Kospi, which had a stellar start to 2021 as it jumped nearly 10% in the first trading week of the year, shed earlier gains as it declined about 1%.
Shares of automaker Hyundai Motor rose again on Monday following a local media report that the firm and Apple are set to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars, according to Reuters.
Hyundai Motor shares soared 6.71% while Kia Motors also jumped more than 1%. Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, however, fell more than 2% each. Shares of Hyundai Motor popped more than 19% on Friday following an initial report surrounding the Apple deal.
Mainland Chinese stocks dipped, with the Shanghai composite declining 0.23% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.431%.
China’s producer price index fell 0.4% in December as compared to a year earlier, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That was a smaller decline than the 0.8% fall expected in a median forecast of a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, China’s consumer price index rose 0.2% year-on-year in December, against expectations of a 0.1% increase in a Reuters poll.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.88%. Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.86%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.23%.
Markets in Japan are closed on Monday for a holiday.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.425 after a recent rise from levels below 89.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.19 per dollar after weakening last week from levels below 103 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was at $0.7698 following levels above $0.78 seen last week.
