Asia stocks mixed; pound struggles following fresh Brexit uncertainties
19 November, 2018
It was a mixed picture for markets in Asia on Friday, on the back of fresh uncertainties emerging from the U.K. overnight after multiple important ministers resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May's government.
The mainland Chinese markets, which have been closely watched amid the ongoing trade spat between Washington and Beijing, recovered from earlier losses to see gains on the day. The Shanghai composite was up 0.41 percent to close at around 2,679.11 and the Shenzhen composite rose 0.843 percent to finish at about 1,410.18.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.12 percent in the final hour of afternoon trade.
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell slightly to close at 5,730.6, with the sectors finishing mostly lower.
Stocks in Japan struggled for gains. The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.57 percent to close at 21,680.34 while the Topix index shed 0.59 percent to end the trading day at 1,629.30. Shares of game maker Nintendo fell 9.1 percent.
Shares of semiconductor companies in Japan took a hit on the back of yesterday's plunge in Nvidia's stock stateside after it missed both revenue and guidance. Tokyo Electron, which manufactures semiconductor equipment, was down 4.26 percent while manufacturer Advantest fell 7.56 percent.