Retail stocks in Asia were mixed following softer lead from U. retailers in the previous session, with South Korea`s Lotte Shopping up by 2.54 percent but Australian retailers mostly trading lower. Myer shares were down 1.79 percent and Harvey Norman was down 1.
In Singapore, shares commodity trader Noble Group tumbled 26.86 percent after the company reported sharp losses for Q1 despite its attempts to restructure. The company`s executive chairman, Richard Elman, said in a note published on the Singapore Exchange that he would be stepping down.
DBS Researched maintained its "hold" call on the company, adding that questions about Noble`s ability "secure sufficient liquidity" from banks remained.
"There is risk that losses may continue due to the inability to effectively hedge the price risk in its coal business, and still negative operating cashflows," analyst Mervin Song said in a note.
In currency news, the pound tanked against the dollar following the Bank of England`s (BOE) interest rate decision yesterday. The BOE stood pat but lowered its growth projections for the United Kingdom. Cable fell sharply after the news, last trading at $1. Pound/dollar traded around $1.292 before the news.
The dollar eased against a basket of rival currencies to trade at 99.617, but still off the 98 handle seen last week. Dollar/yen was weaker, with the greenback fetching 113. Dollar/yen climbed above the 114 level in the last two sessions.
Ahead, a weekend meeting of top finance chiefs from the world leading economies called the G7 will meet in Italy at the weekend with trade and currencies expected to be on the agenda. This round of finance ministers and central bankers will also address global economic growth prospects.
Oil prices made gains for a second straight session yesterday, adding more than 1 percent, but were mostly flat today. West Texas International crude traded higher by 0.86 a barrel while Brent crude futures edged up by the same level at $50.
In economic news, China foreign direct investment (FDI) data for the month of April is expected. Hong Kong will also report its first quarter GDP later today. equities closed lower on Thursday as weak earnings reports Macy`s weighed on major U. retailers, causing the S&P 500 to decline 0.19 points to close at 2,394.
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