SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific equities traded mixed on Monday, with investors watching Turkish lira movements after a sudden turnaround at the country’s central bank.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.91% in morning trading, while the Topix index fell 1.25%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.23%.
Elsewhere, mainland China markets have increased, with the Shanghai component increasing more than 1%, while the Shenzhen component increasing 1.259%.
Meanwhile, stocks in Australia rose, with the S & P / ASX 200 up 0.47%.
The broadest MSCI index for Asia Pacific stocks was traded 0.37% above.
Lira weakens strongly
Investors observed the Turkish lira on Monday, with the currency weakening sharply to 8.0897 against the dollar, compared to levels below 7.5 per dollar seen last week. Previously, the lira had weakened to as low as 8,145 against the dollar.
The sudden move came after the country’s central bank saw another turmoil, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan abruptly replacing his boss a few days after a sharp increase in interest rates.
China’s one-year lending rate (LPR) and five-year LPR remained unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65%, respectively, on Monday. This was in line with the expectations of most traders and analysts in an instant Reuters poll.
In corporate ventures, Japanese chip maker Renesas Electronics’ shares fell about 4% in Monday morning trading. The company announced over the weekend that it will take at least a month to restart production at a facility that was damaged by fire on Friday. This development took place at a time when the world is already facing a global chip shortage.
Coins
The US dollar index, which tracks the US dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 92.11, after its recent recovery from levels below 91.5.
The yen traded at 108.91 per dollar, stronger than levels above 109.2 against the dollar seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7714, below levels above the $ 0.78 seen last week.