Major indices in Asia-Pacific were mainly higher in Tuesday trade. Thus, the Shanghai Composite added 0.29%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.33%. All other indicators of the region showed gaines: Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index increased by 1.15%, the Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped by 1%, South Korea's main KOSPI index advanced by 0.9%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 1.35%. A positive signal for investors was the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Although China uses rather tough methods to combat the pandemic, this cannot but cause concerns about the further development of the economy. Other important factors for investors are still the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as soaring inflation and energy prices.
At the same time, Japan's Nikkei index advanced by 1.5%, notching its best monthly gain. Among the best performers of this index, shares of Inpex Corp, Mitsubishi Corp, and Mitsui & Co. Ltd were up by 8.78%, 6.98%, and 6.03% respectively. SoftBank Group Corp. stock quotes showed a slight increase of 0.9%. Among Chinese companies, the biggest gains were demonstrated by Meituan (+3.5%), Lenovo Group Ltd (+1.2%), and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (+0.7%).
Due to a rise in energy prices, the value of CNOOC Ltd. securities increased by 4.8%. Among the components of the KOSPI, Hyundai Motor's stock gained the most (+3.3%). Shares of LG Corp. and Kia Corp. added 0.95% and 0.7% respectively. The Australian securities exchange showed the maximum growth in the last two months thanks to an increase in stock quotes of companies in the energy and mining sectors.
Shares of BHP Group Ltd jumped by 5.1%, while Rio Tinto Ltd rose by 3%. Amid higher oil prices and the news about a possible refusal of the EU to import oil from Russia, shares of Woodside Petroleum, Santos Ltd, and Beach Energy increased by 1.6%, 2.2%, and 3.2% respectively.
