Asian stocks mixed despite Wall Street rallies

Trader Gordon Charlop works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.

Multiple blasts and gunfire that killed seven people in the Indonesian capital on Thursday, in what authorities called a terrorist attack, added to the nervous sentiment in global markets.

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko). A man walks past an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.

Asian stocks surrendered earlier gains to hit three-1/2-year lows on Friday as renewed pressure on oil prices and disappointing Chinese data kept investors on edge.

However, most Asian markets sank Thursday, tracking Wall Street, as hopes evaporated of a recovery from the recent stocks bloodbath for the region. Renault shares were in particular trouble, dropping by about a fifth at one stage, after French anti-fraud units conducted raids on the carmaker that unions are reportedly linking to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

Aussie’s S&P/ASX 200 and Hong Kong’s Hang Send index fell by 1.56% and 0.59%, respectively.

Elsewhere, in currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.3% against the yen at Yen117.8010, reversing a move earlier in the day that saw the yen near a five-month high against the USA currency.

“What we’re seeing now is the result of a lot of government intervention [from China]”, according to The Wall Street Journal.

CORRECTION OR CRASH? A correction in financial markets is normal. Even a torrid session on Wall Street did not hinder the rebound in Chinese stock markets in afternoon trading. “Yesterday felt like the beginning of that”.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 1.6 cents to $1.068 a gallon, heating oil rose 1.1 cents to 98.1 cents a gallon, and natural gas fell 13 cents to $2.139 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Looking ahead, an analyst said Asian markets will soon recover from the shock of the Jakarta attacks, but low oil prices will continue to be a drag on sentiment.

Investors welcomed a pickup in the price of crude oil, which had briefly fallen below $30 a barrel for the first time since late 2003 the day before. It’s since clawed back some ground to trade at 1.4 percent higher at $30.89 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for worldwide oils, fell 29 cents to $29.99 a barrel in London.

“We’re in a ideal storm”, said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in NY.

Losses in Europe were led by the auto sector after shares in Renault fell over 10% on a report of antifraud searches relating to emissions tests.

Energy plays in Asia traded mostly lower, with Santos down 7.88 per cent, Woodside Petroleum down 2.11 per cent and Oil Search lower by 2.22 per cent. In Japan, Inpex was down 5.15 per cent and Japan Petroleum was down 2.96 per cent. South Korean oil plays were mixed, between up 0.37 per cent and down 0.63 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent, but was set for a weekly loss of 1.9 per cent.

Frankfurt tumbled 2.9 percent as investors digested news that the eurozone’s largest economy grew by about 0.25 percent in the fourth quarter, after expansion of 0.3 percent in the previous three months.