Asian stocks had mixed trading day

Asian stocks were mixed as U.S. futures pointed to a negative start when trading resumes today following Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Australian stocks were 1.5% lower […]


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Asian stocks were mixed as U.S. futures pointed to a negative start when trading resumes today following Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Australian stocks were 1.5% lower with the ASX200 breaking the psychological 4000 level at around noon Sydney time. Hong Kong and South Korean markets were also lower while the Nikkei managed to trade in positive territory for most of the session. The MSCI Asia Pacific index was 0.9% lower in early afternoon Tokyo trading.

Economic news was dominated by Japan’s inflation reading which showed consumer prices declined for the first time since June this year, raising further doubts that the world’s third largest economy will emerge from a long period of deflation. The news saw the Japanese Yen weaken with the USD/JPY hitting an intra-day high of 77.52.

In Australian corporate news, Woodside Petroleum slumped by almost 7% after forecasting a lower than expected ramp up in 2012 production. The group said full year production would likely range between 73 million to 81 million barrels of oil equivalent next year which was below market expectations. That, combined with a reluctance by traders to back any high growth exposures, including energy, was enough to see the stock trade towards its lowest levels in months.

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