Retail stocks in Asia were mixed following softer lead from U.S. retailers in the previous session, with South Korea’s Lotte Shopping up by 0.78 percent but Australian retailers mostly trading lower. Myer shares were down 1.53 percent and Harvey Norman was down 0.61 percent.
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 $1.2887. Pound/dollar traded around $1.292 before the news.
The dollar eased against a basket of rival currencies to trade at 99.631, but still off the 98 handle seen last week. Dollar/yen was weaker, with the greenback fetching 113.81 yen. Dollar/yen climbed above the 114 level in the last two sessions.
Oil prices made gains for a second straight session yesterday, adding more than 1 percent, but were mostly flat today. U.S. West Texas International crude traded higher by 0.04 percent at $47.86 a barrel while Brent crude futures edged up by the same level at $50.79.
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.
U.S. equities closed lower on Thursday as weak earnings reports Macy’s weighed on major U.S. retailers, causing the S&P 500 to decline 0.22 percent or 5.19 points to close at 2,394.44.
