Asia report: Stocks mixed, JD Logistics pares gains on debut day

Stocks were mixed at the close in Asia on Friday, with much attention on the blockbusting debut of JD Logistics in Hong Kong.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1% to 29,149.41, as the yen weakened 0.06% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 109.88.

It was a positive day for the major components of the benchmark index, with automation specialist Fanuc up 2.95%, fashion firm Fast Retailing rising 2.1%, and technology conglomerate SoftBank Group leaping 3.66%.

The broader Topix index added 1.91% by the end of trading in Tokyo, closing at 1,947.44.

Fresh data from the Tokyo metropolitan area showed a 0.4% fall in the consumer price index year-on-year in May, while prices excluding fresh food were down 0.2%.

Pantheon Macroeconomics chief Asia economist Freya Beamish noted that fresh food deflation retreated, accounting for the shift in the headline.

“But the stable ex-fresh food print belies crosscurrents,” she said.

“The effects of rising oil prices are feeding through, with energy deflation moderating to -1.3% in May, from -4.7% in April.

“At the same time, true core inflation was also affected, with private transportation inflation rising.”

Beamish said oil-driven prices in the national gauge often front-run the Tokyo version, adding that she suspected that would continue for the moment.

“Housing prices cooled, with inflation falling to 0.3%, from 0.5% in April.

“Developments here often diverge from the national gauge, but on this occasion, we reckon the signal is good.”

Communication deflation was stable after a plunge in April, but Freya Beamish said that would likely be magnified in August, with revisions, at the next rebasing.

“Overall, these figures suggest that national CPI deflation could moderate to just -0.1% in May, from -0.6% in April.”

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.22% to 3,600.78, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite lost 0.24% to 2,393.49.

South Korea’s Kospi managed gains of 0.73% to 3,188.73, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong eked out a rise of 0.04% to 29,124.41.

JD Logistics rocketed more than 18% during the session in the special administrative region, having debuted at HKD 46.05 on Friday morning.

The shipping arm of Chinese e-commerce behemoth JD.com pared most of those gains in later trading, however, closing up 3.32%, while JD.com itself lost 0.7%.

Seoul’s blue-chip technology stocks were mixed, with Samsung Electronics up 0.63%, while SK Hynix lost 0.4%.

Oil prices were slightly higher as the region entered the weekend, with Brent crude last up 0.27% at $69.65 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.39% to $67.11.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was ahead 1.19% at 7,179.50, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was off 0.5% at 12,182.55.

The down under dollars were weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.29% at AUD 1.2952, and the Kiwi retreating 0.58% to NZD 1.3788.