Asia Markets

Japan stocks jump as oil prices bounce back; South Korea reports first-quarter GDP slump

Key Points
  • Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday.
  • In the oil markets, international benchmark Brent crude futures gained 4.61% to $21.31 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery also jumped 6.68% to $14.70 per barrel.
  • South Korea's economy saw its largest contraction since 2008 in the first quarter, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday as oil prices continued their overnight rebound that recouped some recent losses.

Japan's Nikkei 225 led gains among the region's major markets as it rose 1.52% to close at 19,429.44 while the Topix index gained 1.36% to finish its trading day at 1,425.98.

Mainland Chinese stocks dipped on the day, with the Shanghai composite 0.19% lower to about 2,838.50 while the Shenzhen composite shed 0.5% to 1,763.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added about 0.3%, as of its final hour of trading.

South Korea's Kospi closed 0.98% higher at 1,914.73.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia dipped, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing slightly lower at 5,217.10.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index edged 0.45% higher.

Meanwhile, in the oil markets, international benchmark Brent crude futures gained 4.4% to $21.28 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery also jumped 6.68% to $14.70 per barrel.

That came after a surge in prices overnight that regained some of the sharp losses seen recently. Brent settled $1.04, or 5.38%, higher at $20.37. WTI June delivery also rose $2.21, or 19.1%, to settle at $13.78 per barrel. The moves came following a volatile session overnight that at one point saw Brent trading below $17 per barrel while WTI had touched as low as $10.26 per barrel.

In economic news, South Korea's economy saw its largest contraction since 2008 in the first quarter, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Gross domestic product fell by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea's advance estimates released Thursday. That came as the country's economy took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic. South Korea was the one of the first countries outside of China to report a major outbreak of the virus, though the situation has since improved, with authorities recently relaxing some social distancing rules.

"Looking ahead, we expect the contraction in growth to deepen in Q2, as global shutdowns will take a toll on exports," Lloyd Chan, economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note following the data release. "In addition, although the rate of local infections has slowed, domestic demand will continue to decline due to very weak consumer and business sentiment, as well as rising unemployment."


Overnight stateside, stocks rose for the first time in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 456.94 points, or nearly 2%, to close at 23,475.82. The S&P 500 climbed 2.3% to finish its trading day at 2,799.31 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.8% to close at 8,495.38.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.327 after seeing lows around 100 yesterday.

The Japanese yen traded at 107.78 per dollar after seeing levels below 107.6 earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6343 following a decline from levels around $0.635 yesterday.