SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were largely lower in Wednesday trade as concerns over the world’s recovery from the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was among the biggest losers among the region’s major markets as it dropped 1.9% by the afternoon.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.83% in afternoon trade while the Topix index declined 1.86%.
Mainland Chinese stocks also edged lower, with the Shanghai composite down 1.22% while the Shenzhen component shed 1.354%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi slid 0.39%.
Shares in Australia bucked the overall trend regionally as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.49%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1.1%.
Many regions globally are seeing an increase in new Covid-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread, the World Health Organization said earlier this week. In Europe, authorities continue to struggle with the virus as the region battles a third Covid wave.
Stocks on the move
In corporate developments, shares of Tencent in Hong Kong were down 1.11% by Wednesday afternoon in the city. Reuters reported, citing people with direct knowledge, that the firm’s founder met with China’s antitrust watchdog officials this month to discuss compliance at his group. The Chinese internet behemoth is set to announce its fourth quarter and annual results on Wednesday.
Shares of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group in Hong Kong plunged 4.83%. The moves came after Hong Kong and Macao announced they were suspending BioNTech Covid vaccinations. Fosun Pharma is BioNTech’s partner in the development and distribution of the Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine in greater China.
In Taiwan, shares of chipmaking powerhouse Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company declined more than 2% in Wednesday afternoon trade. That came after Intel announced it will spend $20 billion to build two new chip factories in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Chinese streaming company Bilibili announced Tuesday that it will raise 20.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $2.6 billion) in its upcoming Hong Kong secondary listing after pricing its shares at 808 Hong Kong dollars each. Shares of Bilibili are expected to begin trading in Hong Kong on Monday.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.364 following a rise from levels below 91.8 earlier in the week.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.51 per dollar, as compared to levels around 108.9 against the greenback seen earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7604 after declining yesterday from above $0.768.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.21% to $60.92 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.23% to $57.89 per barrel.
Source: CNBC