Asian shares mostly rise amid mixed market signs
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors focused on causes for optimism despite a weak close on Wall Street.
Japan's benchmark edged up 0.2% to finish at 29,432.70. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost early gains to fall 0.9% to 6,738.40. South Korea's Kospi added 1.1% to 3,068.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 28,647.79, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,451.89.
“Asian markets can be seen broadly treading water,” said Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist at IG in Singapore. She said markets were “awaiting fresh catalysts to assume a definitive direction.”
One cause for market optimism was the reopening of the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most vital waterways, after a stuck cargo ship was freed. At least 113 of over 420 vessels that had waited for the Ever Given to be freed were expected to cross the canal by Tuesday morning Egypt time.
Fully clearing the backlog of delayed ships is expected to take at least another 10 days.
Shares in Nomura Holdings declined further after a 16.3% plunge on Monday. But they recouped some of their morning losses to end down 0.6% in Tokyo trading.
On Monday, Nomura and Swiss bank Credit Suisse said they’re facing potentially significant losses because of their dealings with a major client, though the exact magnitude is still unclear. Nomura estimated the claim against its client could be about $2 billion.
Credit Suisse said that it “and a number of other banks” are exiting trades they made with a significant U.S.-based hedge fund, which defaulted on a “margin call” last week. A margin call happens when a broker tells a client to put up cash after it borrowed money to make trades. News reports identified the client as New York-based Archegos Capital Management.
U.S. banks...