Asian markets: Shanghai Composite slips despite easing Brexit concerns

While majority of Asian stock market indices were trading higher on 20 June, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.23% at 2,878.48 at 5.50am GMT. This was despite easing concerns over the upcoming EU referendum. Three British opinion polls over the weekend revealed that the support for the 'remain' campaign was recovering. However, the polls also show that the 'leave' campaign still has an equal chance to win.

Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Tokyo, said: "Those who were risk-averse are reversing their positions. Sentiment was extremely negative last week, but it's recovering now, though we should not be overly optimistic."

The 'remain' campaign is said to have received a boost after the killing of British MP Jo Cox, who was a strong supporter of the UK staying in the European Union. However, strategists at ANZ said: "To be fair, the sad murder of UK politician Jo Cox may see the rhetoric from both camps get toned down somewhat. But markets will still, no doubt, swing about with movements in opinion polls, just as they did last week."

Indices in the rest of Asia traded as follows on 20 June at 6.12am GMT:

Last week (17 June), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,675.16, down 0.33%, while the FTSE 100 closed at 6,021.09, up 1.19%.

Among commodities, oil prices saw an uptick after six straight days of declines. This was also amid the easing Brexit concerns. While WTI crude oil was trading 1% higher at $48.46 (£33.24, €42.68) a barrel, Brent crude was trading 0.92% higher at $49.62 a barrel at 6.21am GMT on 20 June.