Asia-Pacific stocks mainly traded higher today: the Hang Seng Index added 0.45%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 0.67%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 grew by 0.81%, and South Korea's KOSPI advanced by 0.18%. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite edged down by 0.43% and 0.7% respectively.
A rise in the Asian stock market came due to a fall in energy prices, in particular, oil. Lower crude prices will have a positive effect on large economies and major oil importers in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, and South Korea.
Oil prices dropped by 1% after sliding by 4% yesterday. In the wake of significant progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, crude prices went down. Investors expect the parties to reach an agreement and end the conflict in the near future, which could help improve the situation with oil supplies.
In addition, the unemployment rate went down in Japan. The figure dropped to 2.7% in February from 2.8% in January, beating the market consensus. Economists had expected unemployment or remain at the same level.
Among the Nikkei 225 constituents, the best-performing companies were Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc. (+5.3%), M3 Inc. (+4.18%), and Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd. (+3.8). Stocks of Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. increased by 2.2% and 0.9% respectively.
A fall in China's stocks came due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. A 9-day lockdown was announced in the city of Shanghai.
Among the Hang Seng Index components, Alibaba Health Information Technology, Ltd., (+7.42%), Meituan (+5.98%), and Geely Automobile Holdings, Ltd. (+3.45%) scored significant gains. Meanwhile, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (+0.8%) and CNOOC, Ltd. (+0.6%) saw a modest rise in stock prices.
In South Korea, consumer confidence increased by 0.1% to 103.2 in March.
LG Corp. and Kia Corp., included in the KOSPI index, grew by 0.4% and 0.8% respectively.
In Australia, bank stocks scored the biggest gains, with Westpac Banking Corp. adding 1.1%, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising by 0.2%, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd. up by 0.3%.