Asian Markets mixed on Choppy Trade

Asian stock markets were mixed today during a choppy trading session in Japan and South Korea. Both of those Asian benchmarks were flat or near the flat line today. There were gains in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.13 percent. Stocks gave up early gains after choppy trade. Manufacturing stocks were slightly higher, early o, ended up mixed in the afternoon. Fanuc Manufacturing lost 0.22 percent.

Automakers and technology stocks were also mixed. Banking plays came under pressure. Among blue chip stocks on the Nikkei, Toyota fell 0.14 percent, Honda gained 1.06 percent and SoftBank Group lost 1.04 percent.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Kospi composite index was up by 0.09 percent. The bourse was moving in and out of positive territory most of the day.

Asian Steel Makers Pressured by US Tariffs

In the news, Asian steelmakers were lower after the South Korean government issued a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint over U.S. tariffs. Posco steel was down by 0.96 percent and Hyundai Steel lost 0.95 percent today.

Also in the regional news, the governor of Korea’s central bank, said today, that it was “prepared to respond should the Federal Reserve raise interest rates more aggressively than markets were expecting.”

Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex was up by 2.64 percent. Its financial markets reopened for trade after the Lunar New Year holiday. Suppliers, for Apple Inc. products, were higher in the morning. Largan Precision and Pegatron each up 7.88 percent and 3.46 percent, respectively.