SINGAPORE — Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed Wednesday after a negative session on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China intensified over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.14%.
The Kospi in South Korea slipped 0.22% and the Kosdaq declined 0.13%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.38% and the Topix index was fractionally higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan dipped 0.28%.
Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night local time amid warnings from Beijing. Taiwan is a democratic self-ruled island that China claims as a runaway province.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted that Pelosi’s visit was a “major political provocation,” while a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said it would conduct “a series of joint military operations around the Taiwan Island from the evening of August 2.”
Those operations include long-range combat fire live shooting in the Taiwan Strait and conventional missile firepower test launching, the statement said, calling them “stern deterrence” and a grave warning.
Ahead of the trip, stocks in Asia mostly dropped on Tuesday as investors watched for developments. The Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component were down more than 3% at session lows.
In economic news, China’s Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index data is due today.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 106.448, after a recent climb.
The Japanese yen traded at 133.40 per dollar, weaker compared to earlier in the week. The Australian dollar was at $0.6893.
U.S. crude futures slipped 1% to $93.48 per barrel, while Brent crude futures declined 1.15% to $99.38 per barrel.
