Pedestrians cross a road in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg via Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday after starting the week by struggling for gains in what some analysts have described as a fragile environment for stocks.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 retraced some of its earlier gains but still traded 0.39% higher. The heavily-weighted financials subindex advanced 1.12% as major banking names rose. ANZ shares were up 1.71%, Commonwealth Bank added 0.79%, Westpac rose 1.29% and National Australia Bank was up 1.51%.
Japanese shares initially struggled after market open, but the Nikkei 225 erased early losses to trade up 0.29%. The Topix index eked out a 0.69% gain. Banking and auto shares in Japan broadly advanced as the likes of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Toyota, and Honda traded higher.
South Korean shares fell sharply, with the Kospi down 1.44% and the Kosdaq tumbling 2.15%. Tech shares mostly declined: Samsung was down 1.22%, chipmaker SK Hynix was down 2.58% while search engine operator Naver fell 3.53%. LG Electronics reversed earlier losses to trade up 1.05%.
Chinese mainland shares fell, with the Shanghai composite down 0.88% and the Shenzhen component lower by 1.39%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 0.99%.
Tuesday’s session followed after European and U.S. stocks began the new week on a positive…
