Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up more than 1% following two-day rout; Asia stocks mostly fall
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SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower on Wednesday, with stocks in Hong Kong seeing a partial bounce back from a two-day rout.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed 1.54% higher at 25,473.88. That followed a more than 8% decline over two days earlier this week triggered by regulatory fears over sectors such as technology and private education.
Analysts at Bespoke Investment Group pointed out that there had only been one other period in 2011 when the Hang Seng declined more than 7.5% for two days. Since then, they wrote: “There hasn’t been a single two-day decline since the Financial Crisis that has exceeded the magnitude of the last two days.”
Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong, among the hardest hit in the recent sell-off, rose on Wednesday.
Shares of internet giant Tencent in Hong Kong gained 0.27% while Alibaba rose 1.83% and Meituan surged 7.53%. The Hang Seng Tech index advanced 3.1% to 6,443.31.
Electric vehicle maker Xpeng’s Hong Kong-listed shares plummeted 7.94%, mirroring losses seen for its U.S.-listed stock overnight.
Stocks of firms in the private education space, another sector hit by regulatory scrutiny, bounced back after heavy losses earlier in the week: New Oriental Education & Technology Group gained 9.71% while Koolearn Technology jumped 9.16%.
Mainland Chinese stocks closed lower. The Shanghai composite fell 0.58% to 3,361.59 while the Shenzhen component declined fractionally to 14,086.42.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.13% higher at 3,236.86. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dipped 0.7% on the day to 7,379.30. Australia’s consumer price index rose 0.8% in the June 2021 quarter, according to data released Wednesday by the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.39% to close at 27,581.66 while the Topix index slipped 0.95% to finish the trading day at 1,919.65.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.26%.
The Covid situation regionally may also have weighed on investor sentiment, with movement restrictions across Australia’s Greater Sydney area extended for four weeks on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, South Korea on Wednesday reported its highest-ever daily increase in Covid infections, according to Reuters.
Asian stocks mixed ahead of US data
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Asian stocks mixed ahead of US data
AP and Reuters, TOKYO and BEIJING
Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday after Wall Street rose to a record high as investors waited for US jobs data for an update on how COVID-19 flareups are affecting the biggest global economy.
Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul declined while Tokyo advanced. Hong Kong and Sydney were little changed.
The TAIEX lost 0.44 percent to close at 17,526.28 points, paring its weekly gain to 1.62 percent.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained after investors were encouraged on Thursday by a decline in US unemployment claims. They were watching for Friday’s monthly employment report for an indication of how new disease flareups and renewed anti-disease curbs might be affecting hiring and wages.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index on Friday rose 0.33 percent, or 91.92 points, to end at 27,820.04, while the broader TOPIX inched up 0.02 percent, or 0.36 points, to 1,929.34 points.
“The Nikkei index is supported by a positive US market and a weaker yen,” Okasan Online Securities Co senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito said.
“But selling ahead of tonight’s US job data and a three-day weekend [in Japan] weighed on” the local market, he added.
Nintendo Co dove 7.22 percent after it said first-quarter net profit fell nearly 13 percent as the video-game sector’s COVID-19 lockdown boom loses momentum.
Nikon Corp surged 8.44 percent after it booked a better-than-expected operating profit for the first quarter.
Among other shares, Sony Corp advanced 0.35 percent, while Uniqlo casualwear operator Fast Retailing Co climbed 0.25 percent.
The KOSPI in Seoul lost 0.2 percent to 3,270.36, but rose 2.1 percent for the week, while the ASX/S&P 200 in Sydney was little-changed at 7,538.40, up 2 percent weekly.
India’s SENSEX lost 0.4 percent to 54,277.72 points, paring its weekly gain to 3.2 percent.
New Zealand, Bangkok and Jakarta declined, while Singapore advanced.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed lower on Friday, hit by concerns over tightening government regulations and rising COVID-19 cases in China, even as southbound inflows from mainland investors offered support.
At the close of trade, the Hang Seng Index was down 25.29 points, or 0.1 percent, at 26,179.40, although it finished the week up 0.84 percent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.25 percent to 9,273.55, up 0.4 percent for the week.
The daily drop came as China on Friday reported its highest daily count for new COVID-19 infections in its latest outbreak. The rise in cases has fueled concern about the outlook for China’s uneven economic recovery.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking healthcare firms fell 2.26 percent.
Additional reporting by staff writer
S.Korea stocks fall as strong U.S. jobs data triggers taper talks
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KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
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Korean won weakens against U.S. dollar
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South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
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For the midday report, please click
SEOUL, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell on Monday as investors wagered that upbeat U.S. jobs data would move the Federal Reserve closer to pulling back stimulus. The Korean won weakened and the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI fell 9.94 points, or 0.30%, to 3,260.42, as of 0630 GMT.
** Concerns about the strength of a global recovery diminished after upbeat U.S. jobs report data, but investors remained concerned about a hawkish Fed, said Park Kwang-nam, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
** Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics traded flat and peer SK Hynix fell 1.69%, while LG Chem rose 0.48% and Naver rose 0.67%.
** Foreigners were the net sellers of 206.5 billion won worth of shares on the main board.
** The won was quoted at 1,144.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.19% lower than its previous close at 1,142.1.
** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,144.3 per dollar, up 0.1% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,144.3.
** The KOSPI has risen 13.47% this year, but lost 1% in the previous 30 trading sessions.
** The trading volume during the session was 684.98 million shares in the KOSPI index. Of the total traded issues of 915, the number of advancing shares was 208.
** The won has lost 5.1% against the dollar this year.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.01 points to 110.22.
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.2 basis points to 1.435%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.6 basis points to 1.895%.