SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday, as logistics firm ZTO Express soared in its Hong Kong debut.
By Hong Kong’s market close on Tuesday, shares of logistics provider ZTO Express jumped more than 9% from the offer price of 218 Hong Kong dollars ($28.13) per share. The firm is the latest U.S.-listed Chinese company to debut in the city.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 0.85% to close at 23,275.53. Mainland Chinese stocks were higher, with the Shanghai composite up 0.21% to about 3,224.36 while the Shenzhen component added 1.095% to approximately 12,900.70.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.86% to close at 2,327.89. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat on the day at 5,952.10.
Over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.12% to close at 23,539.10 while the Topix index dipped 0.23% to end its trading day at 1,658.10.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was fractionally higher.
In coronavirus developments, the global death toll from the pandemic crossed the 1 million mark, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. About half of the world’s Covid-19 fatalities were reported in just four countries — the U.S., Brazil, India and Mexico, according to Hopkins data.
Japan telco watch
Shares of Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) fell 2.85%, with the firm announcing Tuesday a buyout of its wireless unit, NTT Docomo, according to Reuters. Shares of NTT Docomo soared 15.78% on Tuesday.
The move by NTT could spark a period of mobile price cuts, as new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called on wireless carriers to reduce prices. Shares of NTT Docomo’s mobile peers, Softbank Corp and KDDI, both fell 4.14% each on Tuesday.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 94.187 following an earlier low of 94.113.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.65 per dollar after touching an earlier high of 105.33 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7095 following levels below $0.705 seen yesterday.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.75% to $42.11 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed about 0.9% to $40.23 per barrel.
Source: CNBC