Asian stocks were little changed on Friday following a record surge in oil prices overnight that saw U.S. crude futures soaring more than 24%.
Asian Stocks
- Mainland Chinese stocks were lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.6% to about 2,763.99 while the Shenzhen composite shed 0.47% to around 1,689.57. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped about 0.6%, as of its final hour of trading.
- In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed largely flat at 17,820.19 while the Topix index ended its trading day 0.36% lower at 1,325.13. South Korea’s Kospi also closed just above the flatline at 1,725.44.
- Meanwhile, shares in Australia slipped, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 1.68% lower at 5,067.50.
- Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shed 0.68%.
Currencies
- The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.333 after crossing the 100 barrier yesterday.
- The Japanese yen traded at 108.07 per dollar after an earlier high of 107.79.
- The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6049 after seeing levels above $0.612 earlier in the week.
Oil Prices
- International benchmark Brent crude futures recovering from their earlier slip to rise 1.47% to $30.38 per barrel.
- U.S. crude futures also fell 2.17% to $24.77 per barrel.
