· Asia-Pacific markets mixed as Hong Kong tech shares sell off, oil prices decline further
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday, following overnight losses on Wall Street, as shares in Japan, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland struggled for gains.
• Hong Kong stocks fall as tech giants slump; China shares down
Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday, dragged by Tencent and Meituan ahead of earnings amid regulatory concerns, while China shares were lower led by media and healthcare firms.
The Hang Seng index dropped 1.4%, to 25,305.07 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises index lost 1.8%, to 9,032.22.
The CSI300 index fell 0.6%, to 4,854.43 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1%, to 3,532.81 points
Tech giants listed in Hong Kong dropped 3%, their biggest intraday decline since Oct. 27.
Shares in India traded lower, with the Nifty 50 down 1.02% and the Sensex off by 0.88% in afternoon trade. Digital payments giant Paytm made its stock market debut on Thursday, following India’s biggest initial public offering to-date.
In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.28%, after wavering between gains and losses earlier in the session. The Kosdaq rose 0.18%.
Japanese shares extended losses from the previous session. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 0.3% to 29,598.66 while the Topix fell 0.14% to 2,035.52.
Australian shares bucked the generally downward trend as the ASX 200 rose 0.13% to 7,379.20. But the energy sector fell amid a sell-off in crude futures. Oil plays like Santos, Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum fell more than 1% each.
· European markets flat after inflation data hit sentiment
European stocks were mixed on Thursday amid market concerns around the region’s inflation outlook.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flatline in early trade, with basic resources dropping 1.3% while media tocks inched 0.3% higher.
The flat open for European markets comes amid investor concerns over the inflation outlook in the region; data released on Wednesday showed euro zone inflation at 4.1% year-on-year in October, more than double the European Central Bank’s target.
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