Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; KOSPI 1.17% down

On Monday, Asia-pacific stocks grappled to trade in one direction as worries about a slowing economy and sticky inflation continued to weigh on the market.

In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI edged down 1.17% or 23.73 points to the 2,280.74 mark. Accordingly, the downturn came amid a significant fall in builders and chemical companies.

Automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor plunged 2.78% to KRW175,000 per share. Then, oil refiner SK Innovation lost 0.85% to KR176,000 apiece. Similarly, LG Chem, a major chemical company, sank 1.96% to KRW499,000.

On the other hand, technology heavyweights trended in the positive terrain of Asia-Pacific stocks. For instance, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.42% to KRW57,000 apiece as SK Hynix gained 1.26% to KRW88,600 per share.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.13% or 27.95 points to the 21,831.84 mark. The index contributed to the negative movement in the Asia-Pacific stocks after it closed on Friday.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.31% or 10.62 points to the 3,398.26 mark. Likewise, the Shenzhen Component advanced 1.09% or 140.61 points to the 13,000.96 mark

Then, the exchange-traded funds will be in the stock connect scheme that links Hong Kong and mainland China from Monday.

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; Japan’s KDDI down

Moreover, Japan’s KDDI Corporation decreased 1.79% to JPY4,236.00, adding to the downtrend of Asia-Pacific stocks.

The telecommunications giant slipped after nationwide network troubles and affected up to nearly 40.00 million users. The disruption started on Saturday and has affected a wide range of services from weather data to banking and transportation.

Accordingly, the outage at a pillar of Japan’s corporate establishment is the latest sign of strain on infrastructure in the country. This conflict came in after the power grid creaked during a heatwave last week.

Nevertheless, the Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.62% or 159.86 points to the 26,095.48 mark. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark added 1.02% or 67.00 points to the 6,606.90 mark.

Furthermore, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded 0.03% higher.