China keeps benchmark lending rate unchanged

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Monday morning trade as China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

In mainland China, the Shanghai composite rose 0.26% while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.42%.

China on Monday kept the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85%. The five-year LPR was also left steady at 4.65%.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 0.23%.

Investors monitored Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech firms Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com after they were among firms fined by China’s market regulator for allegedly violating anti-monopoly legislation.

Alibaba shares in Hong Kong slipped 0.22% while Baidu fell 1.78%. JD.com, on the other hand, surged 2.61%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.33% while the Topix index declined 0.4%.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.73% as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics soared about 5%. The Straits Times index in Singapore also rose 0.28%.

Australian stocks declined as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.43%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded little changed.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.06 following a recent bounce from around 95.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 114.18 per dollar, stronger than levels above 114.5 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at 0.7236 after dropping from above $0.735 last week.

Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.23% to $78.71 per barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.24% to $75.76 per barrel.