SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Monday as investors watched the movements in the Turkish lira following a sudden upheaval at the country’s central bank.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.91% in morning trading while the Topix index fell 1.25%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.23%.
Elsewhere, Chinese markets on the mainland rose, with Shanghai up more than 1%, while the Shenzhen component rose 1.259%.
Meanwhile, equities in Australia were higher, with the S & P / ASX 200 up 0.47%.
MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific stock index traded 0.37% higher.
Lira weakens sharply
Investors watched the Turkish lira on Monday as the currency weakened sharply to 8.0897 against the greenback, compared to levels below 7.5 per dollar seen last week. Earlier, the lira against the greenback weakened to 8,145.
The sharp move came after the country’s central bank took another turn, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suddenly replacing his head a few days after a sharp rise in interest rates.
China’s one-year and five-year loan-to-value ratio (LPR) remained unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65% respectively. This was in line with the expectations of most traders and analysts in a quick poll by Reuters.
In corporate development, Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics’s shares fell 4% in trading on Monday morning. The firm announced over the weekend that it would take at least a month to resume production at a facility damaged by a fire on Friday. The development took place because the world already has a global deficit.
Currencies
The US dollar index, which follows the rate behind a basket of its peers, was at 92,111 after its recent recovery from levels below 91.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.91 per dollar, stronger than levels above 109.2 against the dollar seen last week. The Australian dollar changed from $ 0.7714, down to levels above $ 0.78 last week.