Asia Markets Mixed as Momentum Fades in Chinese Stocks

Asian stock markets diverged on Thursday, with Tokyo and Seoul tracking gains made the previous day on Wall Street even as a selloff of Chinese equities intensified. August was a blockbuster month for Chinese stocks, fuelled by surging shares in semiconductor firms including Cambricon -- but the sustained rally has stalled this week. Shanghai's benchmark index closed the day down 1.3 percent, dragged by a slide of more than 14 percent in Cambricon's stock price. Hong Kong finished down 1.1 percent.

Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Taipei all closed the day higher, following gains made on Wall Street Wednesday. But shares in Japanese motor maker Nidec tumbled 22 percent after it launched a probe into "improper accounting" at its Chinese subsidiary. The mixed day in Asia comes after European and US equities rose Wednesday as a global bond selloff eased, with shares in Google parent Alphabet jumping on the heels of a favourable court ruling. Thursday morning trading in Europe saw Frankfurt and London benchmarks tick up. Paris was slightly down.

Gold reached a new high this week as investors continued to worry over mounting government debt. Japanese bond yields also hit a new record. A soft US labour market report Wednesday showing a decline in job openings helped lift investor confidence the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. "The dollar, naturally, buckled under the weight of weaker jobs and lower rates, and increased Fed cut bets, handing Asia an early boost," wrote Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management, in a note. "When the US dollar slides, Asian assets instantly look more attractive in currency-adjusted terms, and regional equities should snap to life after a sluggish start to September."

Investors in Japan reacted Wednesday to concerns that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba might soon be forced to step down after the number two in his ruling Liberal Democratic Party offered to quit on Tuesday over July's disastrous upper house election. Easing market worries on Thursday, a closely watched auction of 30-year Japanese government bonds passed without incident as demand was largely consistent with recent levels. Also weighing on investors' minds is the decision by a US judge to refrain from requiring Google to sell its Chrome web browser in a closely watched antitrust case. Shares in Google parent Alphabet rose around nine percent on Wednesday, while Apple -- whose lucrative deal to make Google search the default on iPhones was also spared in the court ruling -- rose nearly four percent.

"Taken together, the rulings were read as a sign that US courts may remain friendlier to tech giants than feared under the Trump administration," wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. Oil prices continued to drop Thursday amid anticipation of excess supply in the coming months as OPEC+ nations are expected to further unwind production cuts.

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 42,580.27 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,058.51 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,765.88 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 at 9,183.69

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1653 from $1.1663 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3443 from $1.3445

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.38 yen from 148.12 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.68 pence from 86.75 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $63.25 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $66.89 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 45,271.23 (close)