Asia Stocks Edge up as Crude Prices Stabilise

Asian stocks poked into positive territory on Tuesday, shrugging off early losses as Chinese shares stabilised a day after marking their biggest loss in a month and crude prices took back some lost ground.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent. But it remained on track to mark a loss of around 12 percent for 2015, a year that saw it log a more than seven-year high in April.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index added 0.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.2 percent, after both skidded more than 2 percent in the previous session.

Japan’s Nikkei erased earlier losses and was up 0.3 percent in afternoon trade, while South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.1 percent.

Australian stocks rose 0.9 percent, gaining for the eighth consecutive session after reopening following a four-day long holiday weekend.

Crude oil futures stabilised after both Brent and U.S. crude prices dropped more than 3 percent on Monday. Brent edged up 0.1 percent a barrel to $36.67, though it was still not far from an 11-year low of $35.98 struck last week, while U.S. crude also added about 0.1 percent to $36.85.

The overnight tumble sent U.S. energy shares down 1.8 percent, the worst performing of the major S&P sectors. Wall Street marked modest losses after trading resumed following the Christmas break, with this week’s activity is expected to remain thin until after the long New Year holiday weekend.

Reuters

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Former Craig

Former Craig

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.