—– The Nikkei in Tokyo closed in the plus. Export stocks were favored by the yen, which fell to a 20-year low against the dollar today, reaching 133 yen per dollar. The biggest gainers were JGC Corp+12.05%, Chiyoda Corp +7.98%, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries+7.21%. The losers were Konami Corp -2.56%, Kawaski Kisen Kaisha-2.43%, and Dai-ich Life-2.16%.
The Nikkei Index closed at 28,234.29, up 290.34, or +1.04%.
—– The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia closed higher. It was supported by a rally in mining and energy stocks, led by Atlas Arteria+16.20%, Boral+14.69%, and Woodside Energy+5.62%. The biggest losers were Bendigo & Adelaide Bank -7.19%, Perenti Global. Ltd-6.54%, Westpac Banking-6.11%.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed at 7,121.10, up 25.40, or +0.36%.
The All Ordinaries Index closed at 7,347.00, up 28.40, or +0.39%.
—– The KOSPI in Seoul moved slightly lower as investors remain concerned about rising inflationary pressures. This could lead the U.S. and other major economies to tighten monetary policy. The biggest losers were CocoaPay-15.57%, Hac In-9.09%, and Jayjun Co-8.27%. The biggest gainers included Samhwa Crown+29.98%, Hanchang+29.79%, and Cltech Co Ltd+18.72%.
The KOSPI index closed at 2626.15 points, down 0.19 points or -0.01%.
—– SHANGHAI Index closed higher for the fourth consecutive day, with markets continuing to be supported by the easing of Beijing’s lockdown measures. Shenzhen Sking Intelligent Equipment Co+20.01%, Zhejiang Zhengguang Industrial+20.00%, and Hangzhou CNCR-IT+15.16% were the biggest gainers. On the downside, Hainan Dadonghai Tourism B-77.89%, Hainan Dadonghai Tourism A-76.53%, and Bode Energy Equipment-59.74%.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,263.79, up 22.03, or +0.68%.
—– The Hang Seng stock market in Hong Kong closed higher as the market continued to be supported by China’s announcement of easing lockdown measures in the capital Beijing. Top gainers were Orient Victory China+60.47%, DreamEast+53.33%, LVGEM China Real Estate+43.68%. The big losers were Alco-28.03%, Artgo Holdings Ltd-22.03%, and Zioncom Holdings-20.31%.
The Hang Seng Index closed at 22,014.59 points, up 482.92 points, or +2.24%.
—– The Thai stock market participants were more cautious, although the outcome of today’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) leaves the interest rate unchanged at 0.50%. Top gainers were Lighting and Equipment +30.00%, NF. C+29.67%, Boutique New City+23.28%. The losers were Thai Packaging and Printing-12.14%, Solartron-6.62%, Wattanakarn Medicine-6.56%.
The SET closed at 1636.89 points, up 4.97 points or +0.30%.