SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific slipped in Friday morning trade start despite gains overnight on Wall Street that took the S&P 500 to a record closing high.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.29% in early trade while the Topix index declined 0.39%. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.05%.
Australian stocks were also lower as the S&P/ASX 200 slipped slightly.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.07% lower.
Investors will continue to monitor shares of China Evergrande Group, with the debt-ridden developer inching closer to a technical default on the coupon payment of a dollar-denominated bond that was due Sept. 23. Its 30-day grace period ends this weekend.
S&P 500 record close
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% overnight on Wall Street to a new record close of 4,549.78. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.62% to 15,215.70 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, slipping 6.26 points to 35,603.08.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.745 as it struggles to recover after slipping from above 94 earlier this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.84 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 114.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7464 after yesterday’s drop from above $0.75.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slipping fractionally to $84.57 per barrel. U.S. crude futures declined 0.12% to $82.40 per barrel.
