Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; China’s latest benchmark lending rate ahead

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; China’s latest benchmark lending rate ahead


SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Monday morning trade, as investors look ahead to the release of China’s latest benchmark lending rate.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.58% in early trading while the Topix index climbed 0.45%. In South Korea, the Kospi also advanced 0.14%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped fractionally.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.11% higher.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 104.695 after a recent bounce from levels below 104.

The Japanese yen traded at 135.29 per dollar, weaker as compared to levels below 132 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6949 after dropping late last week from above $0.70.



Source

Nine of the largest pharma companies ink deals with Trump to lower drug prices
World

Nine of the largest pharma companies ink deals with Trump to lower drug prices

President Donald Trump signs an executive order aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals by 30% to 80% during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Several of the largest U.S. and European-based drugmakers inked deals with […]

Read More
Google’s boomerang year: 20% of AI software engineers hired in 2025 were ex-employees
World

Google’s boomerang year: 20% of AI software engineers hired in 2025 were ex-employees

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., during the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images With the AI talent wars heating up between companies like OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic, one way Google has been competing is by aggressively rehiring […]

Read More
Claire’s new owner Ames Watson feuds with Asia-based suppliers over millions in unpaid debt
World

Claire’s new owner Ames Watson feuds with Asia-based suppliers over millions in unpaid debt

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images Tween retailer Claire’s is facing legal challenges from some of its Asia-based suppliers over millions in unpaid debts as it tries to emerge from a second bankruptcy under new ownership, according to claims the suppliers filed in Hong Kong.  The clash with vendors comes as private equity firm […]

Read More