Asian Shares Mixed Amid Ukraine Tensions

Asian stocks cut early losses to end mixed on Monday after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine.

A decision on the summit will be taken after a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two nations next week, if an invasion hasn’t occurred.

Chinese shares ended marginally lower amid fresh attempts by the government to crack down on the private sector and more default warnings from developers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.65 percent to close at 24,170.07.

China’s central bank today kept its benchmark loan prime rates unchanged after trimming the official rates for two months in a row.

Japanese shares ended lower for a third day running, with industrial and basic material firms leading losses. The Nikkei average ended down 211.20 points, or 0.78 percent, at 26,910.87, after having fallen more than 2 percent earlier on fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The broader Topix index closed 0.71 percent lower at 1,910.68 as data showed the manufacturing sector in the country expanded at a slower pace in February. Chipmakers Advantest, Renesas and Tokyo Electron gave up 2-3 percent.

Sharp Corp lost 10.1 percent after announcing a plan to to fully acquire a loss-making display affiliate.

Australian markets reversed early losses to end a tad higher as investors cheered positive manufacturing data and news of a possible summit between the United States and Russia.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 11.90 points, or 0.16 percent, at 7,233.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index finished marginally higher at 7,507.

Power producer AGL Energy soared 10.6 percent after rejecting a premium buyout bid. Tech stock led losses, with buy now, pay later firm Zip tumbling 7.8 percent after forecasting a bigger loss.

Seoul stocks cut early losses to end on a flat note, tracking an intraday recovery elsewhere across Asia. Upbeat exports data for the first 20 days of February also offered some support. The Kospi average closed down 0.72 point at 2,743.80, after having declined as much as 1.8 percent earlier in the session.

New Zealand shares fluctuated before ending slightly higher on the back of A2 Milk’s improved outlook. The benchmark NZX 50 index inched up 14.45 points, or 0.12 percent, to 12,156.34 while A2 Milk shares surged as much as 12.3 percent. A2’s key supplier, Synlait Milk, added 2.7 percent.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday and notched a second consecutive losing week as pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian authorities traded allegations of cease-fire violations across the conflict zone.

The Dow shed 0.7 percent to reach its lowest level since early December and the S&P 500 also gave up 0.7 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.2 percent.

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