Asian Shares Mixed As Year Draws To A Close

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed in muted trade on Friday, the last trading session of 2023. The dollar looked set to end 2023 with a loss, keeping gold prices on track for their best year in three.

Oil held steady in Asian trading after a 3 percent fall in the previous session on demand concerns and easing supply worries.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.68 percent to 2,974.93, extending gains from the previous session in a sign that investors may be eyeing a return to the battered market.

Kong's Hang Seng index finished marginally higher at 17,047.39 after a choppy session. The Shanghai Composite index fell about 4 percent in 2023 and the Hang Seng lost about 15 percent.

Japanese markets edged lower, with the Nikkei average closing 0.22 percent lower at 33,464.17. The broader Topix index inched up 0.19 percent to 2,366.39.

The Nikkei average jumped 27 percent in 2023, marking its best annual gain in a decade, sparked by ultra-low interest rates and Warren Buffett's decision to invest billions of dollars into Japan.

South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. Australian markets ended lower in the final session of 2023 after seeing a solid run in December with gains over 7 percent.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 dipped 0.31 percent to 7,590.80 as investors looked to book some year-end profits.

The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.29 percent lower at 7,829.50, dragged down by energy and material stocks.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index ended marginally higher at 11,770.49.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed overnight while benchmark Treasury yields and the dollar edged up from five-month lows on the penultimate trading day of 2023.

In economic releases, the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, while November pending home sales were unchanged.

The Dow inched up 0.1 percent to hit a new record closing high and the S&P finished marginally higher while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended flat with a negative bias.