The dollar hit a four-year peak against a basket of currencies in early Asian trade on Monday, bolstering Japanese shares, but other Asian shares shrugged off Fridays Wall Street rebound in the face of political unrest in Hong Kong. MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.4 percent, hitting a 20-week low. Japans Nikkei average rose 0.7 percent after U.S. shares bounced on Friday from sell-off the day before, with the yens weakness flattering the export sector. The regions other big share markets were less robust. Australian shares were hit by falls in iron ore prices, while South Korean counters were stung by the falling yen, which favors their Japanese competitors. Australian shares dropped 0.6 percent while Seoul shares dropped 0.2 percent. The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday raised its estimate of gross domestic product growth to an annualized 4.6 percent, the fastest pace in 2-1/2 years, and accelerating from the 4.2 percent reported last month.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 06:00:00 +0000
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