Asian Markets End Final Session Of Year On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Asian markets turned in a mixed performance on the final trading session of the calendar year 2017, with investors mostly refraining from making significant moves due to the absence of strong catalysts.

Crude oil and copper prices stayed firm - the former still hovering at 30-month high - but equities never really find any great support in the final week of the year and stock price movements in most of the markets in Asia stayed sluggish.

In the Australian market, retail stocks saw some strong buying. Miners and energy stocks exhibited a mixed trend, while bank stocks ended slightly weak.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 23 points or 0.38 percent to 6065.10. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 22.10 points or 0.36 percent, at 6167.30.

Myer Holdings and Retail Food Group gained 4.8 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. IPH added 2.8 percent, while Orocobre, Sigma Pharma, and Beach Energy gained 2 to 2.2 percent.

Syrha Resources, Independence Group, Ardent Leisure, Rio Tinto, CYBG, Alumina, Inctec Pivot and Santos also ended notably higher.

Saracen Mineral Holdings, G.U.D. Holdings, Bega Cheese, GWA Group, Breville Group, Vocus Group, Pilbara Minerals and Steadfast Group shed 2 to 4 percent.

The big four banks ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Bank of Queensland ended marginally down.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded flat against the U.S. dollar in late trading, quoting at 0.7797 a dollar.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei225 ended down 19 points or 0.08 percent, at 22,757.00.

Nippon Sheet Glass and Toshiba Corp moved up 2.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Asahi Glass gained about 2 percent.

Shiseido declined more than 2 percent and Yahoo Japan ended down 1.9 percent. Furukawa Electric, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Daiwa House Industry and Ube Industries ended lower by 1 to 1.4 percent.

Among the gainers, Nippon Sheet Glass added 2.8%, extending recent gains. Toshiba Corp., Aashai Glass, Hokuetsu Kishu Paper and Hitachi Construction are up 1.5 - 2 percent.

From the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Shizuoka Bank, Shinsei Bank and Chiba Bank posted gains.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong and China ended modestly higher. Taiwan also closed on a firm note and the Indian market is currently trading higher. Indonesia, Singapore edged up marginally, while New Zealand and Malaysia ended flat.

The calendar year 2017 turned out to be a good one for most of the markets in the region. The Hong Kong market's benchmark Hang Seng gained about 36 percent in the year, South Korea's KOSPI added nearly 23 percent and the Nikkei 225 of Japan notched up nearly 20 percent.

The Indian benchmark Sensex, currently up 0.45 percent, has gained over 27 percent this year. The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange has risen almost 31 percent.