Stock markets in Asia ended trading on a mixed note on Wednesday amidst a recovery in the Chinese benchmarks and a muted sentiment in the other bourses. Beijing pledging further support for growth helped a rebound in the Chinese indexes whereas Japanese stocks tracked the overnight losses on Wall Street.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 71.86 points or 2.5 percent to finish at 2,958.28. The day’s trading ranged between 2,863.65 and 2,959.18. The Shenzhen Component Index soared 4.4 higher to close at 10,652.90.
The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 313.48 points or 1.2 percent to end Wednesday’s trading at a two-week low of 26,386.63.
Beverage business Sapporo Holdings led the price charts with a more than 7 percent overnight rally. Logistics business Nippon Yusen gained almost 5.5 percent. Utilities business Osaka Gas and beer maker Asahi Group Holdings both gained more than 4 percent. International shipping business Mitsui O.S.K lines has gained 3.8 percent.
Packaged food maker Kikkoman Corp plunged more than 12 percent following disappointing quarterly results. Fanuc Corp, Cyber Agent, and Yokohama Rubber all dropped more than 5 percent. Nomura Holdings declined a little less than 5 percent.
The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange inched up 11.65 points or 0.1 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 19,946.36.
The Korean Stock Exchange’s Kospi Index shed 29.25 points or 1.1 percent to close at 2,639.06. The day’s trading range was between 2,591.53 and 3316.08.
Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at a 20-day low of 7,261.20 after dropping 56.80 points or 0.8 percent.
Whitehaven Coal was the top gainer with a 5.5 percent surge. Commercial and professional services business Downer Edi followed with a 4.7 percent rally. Minerals business Champion Iron, insurance company NIB Holdings and materials business South32 gained more than 3 percent.
Life360 plunged more than 29 percent following the scrapping of its U.S. listing plans. Diversified financials business Credit Corp Group and gambling business PointsBet Holdings dropped close to 9 percent. EML Payments and materials business Northern Star Resources declined more than 5 percent.
The NZX 50 INdex of the New Zealand Stock Exchange shed 87 points or 0.7 percent to close at 11,1726.39.
Utilities business Contact Energy was the best performer with a 2.6 percent gain. Apparel manufacturer KMD brands and utilities company Infratil are the other gainers with a 1.5 percent uptick.
Building products maker Fletcher Building, IT services provider Pushpay Holdings, REIT Goodman Property, all lost more than 3 percent. Entertainment business Sky Network Television and financial services business Heartland Group both gained more than 2 percent.
Stocks on Wall Street plunged sharply on Tuesday as worries of aggressive rate hikes by the Fed triggered concerns of a recession in the economy. Tesla’s plunge following the Musk-Twitter deal also added to the negative sentiment. The Nasdaq-100 shed 3.9 percent to close at 13,009.71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.4 percent to end at 33,240.18.
Market Analysis
China Rebounds While Other Asian Benchmarks Slide
2022-04-27 08:55:39
