AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- Stock markets in APAC closed the week mostly in red.
- Hong Kong shares declined the most while Mumbai was the top performer.
- Local triggers propelled negative sentiment in the markets.
The Asia Pacific markets were mostly in red during the week amid regulatory concerns surrounding sectors such as technology and casinos in China and the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), which is the largest APAC index outside of Japan, corrected by 2% during the week. In the region, except for visible gains in Japanese and other shares, most other markets were trading in the red.
Here is how the APAC markets behaved this week:
China: Chinese markets were one of the worst hit during the week. The Shanghai Composite shed 2.41%. On the other hand, the Shenzhen Component was down 2.80% at the end of the week. Chinese shares took a hit earlier this week on the back of regulatory uncertainty in sectors like technology and casinos. Shares of China Evergrande Group closed 3.42% lower on Friday, recouping losses after plummeting more than 11% earlier, as fears over its debt default continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
Hong Kong: The regulatory uncertainty that hit the Chinese markets had a far higher impact in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng index was worst hit during the week – as the benchmark closed over 5% lower despite gains on Friday. Reason? Most of the big-ticket Chinese companies are listed in Hong Kong.
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Australia: Down Under in Australia, the benchmark, ASX200, closed flat – down 0.04% for the week. The markets witnessed meltdown on Friday due to falling iron ore prices. Shares of Australian miners dropped following a recent decline in iron ore prices: Rio Tinto declined 4.7% and BHP shed 3.67% while Fortescue Metals Group crashed 11.48%.
Rest of APAC: The Japanese indices closed the week with gains of less than 0.5%, while Indian indices closed with gains of around 1.5% -- being the best performers in the region. Korean shares also closed the week with gains, while in Thailand and Taiwan, markets closed the week in the red.
