Asian markets lower as yen advances

Asian stock markets have been mixed today (February 28th), with sentiment hampered by a stronger yen. 

The Japanese currency has climbed in forex trading markets amid ongoing tensions in Ukraine. Investors generally consider the yen to be a safe store of value during times of political and economic uncertainty because the country does not rely on foreign capital to fund its deficits.

In addition, data released overnight showed both industrial production and Japan's inflation rate increased by more than anticipated in January, further boosting demand for the currency.

This reduces repatriated earnings for Tokyo-listed exports, weighing on the Nikkei 225. As a result, the index ended the session down by 0.55 per cent at 14,817.07 points, recording a weekly loss of 0.2 per cent and a drop of 0.5 per cent for the month.

With confidence in the Chinese financial sector recovering, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite closed up by 0.04 per cent and 0.44 per cent respectively.