Foxconn earnings, Australian dollar and rising yen

SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly down at the close on Thursday, with US markets topping again after data showed inflation was not as bad as it was feared. The dollar weakened while Asian currencies rose.

Chinese stocks closed in negative territory. The Shanghai composite lost 0.22% to close at 3,524.74, while the Shenzhen component lost 0.79% to 14,901.97.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost nearly 1%. On its Hong Kong debut, shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto fell as much as 1.8% below their offer price, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon. He then reduced some of those losses to drop about 1% in the afternoon.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan lost 0.2% to close at 28,015.02, while the Topix closed almost flat at 1,953.55. In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.38% to 3,208.38.

The Australian S & P / ASX 200 edged higher to close at 7,588.20.

The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan fell 0.62% in the afternoon.

In terms of earnings, Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, reported higher than expected quarterly earnings. Its net profit from April to June rose 30% from the previous year, according to Reuters.

Markets will continue to monitor the Covid situation in the region after the World Health Organization warns global cases could exceed 300 million by the start of next year if the pandemic continues in its current direction . The projection came just a week after the WHO reported 200 million cases of Covid globally and six months after the world passed 100 million cases.

Meanwhile, South Korea reported a new daily record of more than 2,200 cases, its health minister said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

In Australia, Melbourne extended its lockdown for an additional week as it struggles to contain the highly infectious delta variant.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose on Wednesday after inflation rose less than investors feared when volatile food and energy prices were removed.

The 30-stock Dow Jones gained 220.30 points, or 0.6%, to 35,484.97 to close on a new record. The S&P 500 traded up 0.2% to 4,447.70, also hitting a record high. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slipped more than 0.1% to 14,765.14.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, fell to 92.940 from levels above 93.1 yesterday.

“The US dollar traded lower against all major currencies after the US inflation report showed consumer prices slowing in July,” wrote Kathy Lien, co-founder of 60Second Investor, in a note.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars benefited the most from the weakness in the US dollar and the recovery in risk, she said.

On Thursday afternoon, the Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7361, strengthening from levels above $ 0.732 seen yesterday. The New Zealand dollar was at 0.7022, from below 0.70 levels seen earlier in the week.

“The resilience of the AUD is surprising with the government extending lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne after the number of new COVID-19 cases in Sydney hit new records,” Lien wrote.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen traded at 110.41, strengthening from levels above 110.7 the previous day.