SINGAPORE – Shares in Australia and Japan struggled on Friday for gains where trading volume is expected to be low as many markets in the region closed for the start of the New Year holiday.
In Australia, the ASX 200 benchmark fell 0.21%, with the financial, energy and materials sub-indices struggling to make a profit.
The country’s so-called Big Four banks traded mixed. Shares of ANZ reversed earlier losses to trade 0.12%, Commonwealth Bank shares also wiped out losses to climb 0.34%, Westpac traded lower by 0.13% and the National Australia Bank traded 0.12% lose.
The Japanese market resumed trading after closing on Thursday for a public holiday. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.22% while the Topix index fell fractionally lower.
Currencies and oil
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar traded close to a basket of its peers. The dollar index last stood at 90,417, a little higher than the previous close at 90,371.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 104.74 per dollar, at the same level as the last close at 104.72, while the Australian dollar traded close to $ 0.7753.
Oil prices fell during the overnight session, where OPEC and the International Energy Agency warned that demand recovery was hampered by renewed coronavirus-related barriers.
The global benchmark Brent fell 0.5% to $ 61.14 a barrel, while US crude fell 0.8% to $ 58.24.
Reuters reports that OPEC said global oil demand will bounce back more slowly than previously expected in 2021, while the IEA said global oil supplies were still larger than demand, but Covid-19 vaccines should help demand repair.