SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, with shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in the spotlight following reports that Chinese regulators will probe the firm for suspected monopolistic behavior.
Alibaba shares in Hong Kong fell 8.13% on Thursday.
That came following reports that Chinese authorities will probe the Alibaba Group over suspected monopolistic behavior. CNBC has yet to confirm the reports, which were made by Bloomberg and Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. Separately, Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group also confirmed Thursday that it had “received a meeting notice from regulators.”
The news comes on the heels of an increasing — and largely unexpected — push by Chinese authorities to rein in their biggest tech firms through regulatory action.
Asia-Pacific markets rise
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were higher on Thursday, with markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore closing early for Christmas Eve.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.42% while the Topix index advanced 0.49%. South Korea’s Kospi also jumped 1.24%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.16% higher at 26,386.56. Stocks in mainland China lagged, as the Shanghai composite fell 0.21% by the afternoon while the Shenzhen component was 0.333% lower.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia climbed, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.33% to 6,664.80. The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 0.3% to 2,842.04.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.38%.
Brexit trade deal hopes
Meanwhile, in Brexit trade deal negotiations between Britain and the European Union, bond yields and the British pound jumped on Wednesday following reports that an agreement was close. Reuters reported that a trade deal was “imminent,” citing a senior EU diplomat, though CNBC could not independently verify this.
The British pound was at $1.3541, having fallen to around $1.32 earlier in the week.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to close at 3,690.01 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended its trading day 114.32 points higher at 30,129.83. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.3% lower at 12,771.11.
The moves stateside came after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the new U.S. Covid-19 relief package, an act that could delay the deployment of funds to struggling Americans. On Wednesday, Trump also vetoed the sweeping defense bill that authorizes a topline of $740 billion in spending and outlines Pentagon policy.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.232 following levels above 90.8 seen earlier in the week.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.57 per dollar, off levels below 103.2 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7585, off lows below $0.75 seen earlier in the trading week.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.88% to $51.65 per barrel. U.S. crude futures advanced 0.79% to $48.50 per barrel.
Source: CNBC