Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday trade, as data showed Japan’s economy growing faster than an earlier estimate.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.7%.
Investors monitored shares of China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong, which briefly dropped below its IPO price in Wednesday trade before going up around 4%.
Prior to its Wednesday turnaround, the embattled property developer’s stock had dropped more than 8% so far this week, extending declines since last week after it warned that it could default.
Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday downgrading its rating, citing “heightened liquidity and default risks.” Ratings agency Fitch also followed with a downgrade on Evergrande on Wednesday morning.
· Fitch downgrades China Evergrande, sees 'probable' default
Fitch said in a statement that it had downgraded the long-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings of Evergrande and subsidiaries Hengda Real Estate Group Co and Tianji Holding Ltd to CC from CCC+. Fitch defines a CC rating as indicating “very high levels” of credit risk.
· China stocks mixed on cenbank prudent monetary policy stance
China shares were mixed on Wednesday as central bank officials vowed to maintain prudent monetary policy, while state media said the country’s long-term economic policy remains unchanged.
The CSI300 index fell 0.3% to 4,980.55 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1%, to 3,679.18 points.
The Shanghai Composite Index hit its highest in six months on Tuesday.
· Japan's Nikkei ends at near 6-month high on bargain hunting for cheap stocks
appam's Nikkei share average ended at a near six-month high on Wednesday, as investors scooped up cheap stocks on hopes of an economic rebound, while SoftBank Group jumped after its share-swap deal with Deutsche Telekom.
The Nikkei share average rose 0.89% to close at 30,181.21, its highest since March 18. The broader Topix advanced 0.79% to 2,079.61.
· European stocks fall 1% on growth worries
The Europe-focussed STOXX 600 index fell 1% by 0712 GMT - on course for its biggest daily decline in three weeks - after losses overnight on Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 and Asian stocks.
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