Asian stocks steadied on Wednesday as Russia faced mounting pressure and economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
Western nations on Tuesday punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and threatened to go further if Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor.
Chinese shares rose sharply after Bloomberg reported that regulators asked China Huarong Asset Management Co. and its peers to buy property assets from troubled developers and formulate plans for taking over or restructuring smaller lenders.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 32.00 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,489.15, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended up 140.28 points, or 0.6 percent, at 23,660.28.
Australian markets rose notably as Australia joined Europe, the U.S. and U.K. with a first tranche of measures on Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended up 44.40 points, or 0.6 percent, at 7,205.70, after having fallen 1 percent on Tuesday. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 51.70 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 7,473.90.
Healthcare stocks topped the gainers list, with Cochlear surging 5.1 percent, while gold miners ended mostly lower to snap a four-day winning streak.
New Zealand shares fluctuated before ending slightly higher after the country’s central bank raised interest rates for the third straight meeting and signaled a more aggressive tightening path to contain inflation. The benchmark NZX-50 Index inched up 19.79 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,134.42.
Seoul stocks advanced after two days of declines on concerns around the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The Kospi rose 12.74 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,719.53.
U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight, as fears of a war in Europe deepened and President Joe Biden announced a wave of sanctions against Russia. Biden also said the U.S. would continue to supply ‘defensive’ weapons to Ukraine.
The Dow fell 1.4 percent to end at an eight-month low and the S&P 500 shed 1 percent to enter into correction territory, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.2 percent.
Market Analysis
Asian Shares Rise In Cautious Trading
2022-02-23 08:56:48
