The Asia-Pacific stock markets experienced mixed performance on Wednesday, November 8. While the Hong Kong and Japanese markets declined for the second consecutive session, other markets saw modest gains.
Hong Kong Market
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) of Hong Kong companies weakened by 0.6% to reach 17,568.46. In this index, Ping An Insurance (2318) witnessed the largest drop, with shares weakening by 5.4%. Meanwhile, shares of Lenovo Group (992) and China Hongqiao Group (1378) declined by 3.9% and 2.6% respectively. In contrast, Country Garden Services (6098) saw the largest increase, with shares surging by 8.8%. Similarly, shares of Longfor Group Holdings (960) and Zhongsheng Group Holdings (881) added 6.8% and 5.3% respectively.
Japanese Market
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index (NIK) weakened by 0.3% to reach 32,166.48. Among the index constituents, Tokai Carbon (5301), a basic inorganic chemicals company, experienced the largest drop with shares tumbling by 10.9%. Additionally, Meiji Holdings (2269), a dairy products firm, and Tokyo Gas (9531), a gas utilities company, saw declines of 8.7% and 7.9% respectively. On a positive note, Yokogawa Electric (6841), a measuring/precision instruments company, had the largest increase with shares surging by 11.0%. Similarly, Mazda Motor (7261), a passenger cars firm, and Nintendo (7974), a video game consoles company, added 10.4% and 6.1% respectively.
Other Markets
China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) weakened by 0.2% to reach 3,052.37, and the FTSE Straits Times Index (STI) of Singapore stocks dropped 1.4% to 3,127.84. The KOSPI Composite Index (180721) of South Korean stocks also experienced a decline of 0.9% to reach 2,421.62. However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index (XJO) saw a modest gain of 0.3%, reaching 6,995.40.