Asian markets were little changed in light holiday trading Wednesday, with many major global markets closed for Christmas.
Japan’s Nikkei
slipped 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite
was about flat and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite
rose 0.4%. Taiwan’s Taiex
was flat while stocks edged down in Malaysia
. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 were closed.
Among individual stocks, Nissan
sank in Tokyo trading after its vice chief operating officer — who had been tasked with the auto maker’s recovery from scandal — said he will step down. E-commerce company Rakuten
also declined.
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with only the Nasdaq
managing to post another record-high close. The S&P 500
and Dow Jones Industrial
finished with tiny losses.
U.S. markets will reopen Thursday, but most European markets will stay closed until Friday.
Investors have been encouraged by plans for an interim U.S.-Chinese trade deal despite having seen few details.
U.S. recession fears have faded after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times. The central bank appears set to keep them low for a long time.
Energy markets were closed for the holiday.
In currency markets, the dollar
edged up to 109.39 yen from Tuesday’s 109.38 yen.
