Mainland Chinese markets jumped in afternoon trade on Wednesday. Troubled Chinese real estate developers are back in the spotlight, while Chinese social media giant Weibo had a disappointing market debut in Hong Kong.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ballooned 405.02 points, or 1.4%, to 28,860.62.
Japan reported that its economy shrank 3.6% in the third quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 3.0% contraction, revised government data showed on Wednesday.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.41 per U.S. dollar, as it continued to weaken.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng eked up 13.21 points, or 0.1%, to 23,996.87,
Chinese social media giant Weibo made its market debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday, in what was its secondary listing at an offer price of $272.80 Hong Kong dollars ($34.98) per share. The main listing is on the NASDAQ. Shares opened 6% lower at 256.20 Hong Kong dollars ($32.85 U.S.). At one point, the price fell as low as 253.20 Hong Kong dollars.
Weibo’s NASDAQ-listed stock has plummeted more than 10% in the past week. This comes as Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi said last week it will start delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, and make plans to list in Hong Kong instead.
Trading in shares of major Chinese real estate developer Kaisa will be suspended on Wednesday, according to a notice on the Hong Kong exchange. Following the Evergrande crisis, Kaisa has also been embroiled in debt issues, as it looked unlikely that it met its $400 million offshore debt deadline on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
It also failed to reach a notes exchange deal with bondholders last week, increasing its chances of default, analysts have said.
This is the second trading halt. The developer had suspended trading in November after missing a payment on a wealth management product earlier this month.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7129, continuing its ascent in the past week.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 gained 73.83 points, or 1.5%, to 4,995.93.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex took on 35.5 points, or 0.2%, to 17,832.42
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 4.89 points, or 0.2%, to 3,129.77
In Korea, the Kospi index advanced 10.08 points, or 0.3%, to 3,001.80
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 popped 258.44 points, or 2.1%, to 12,868.32
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 91.55 points, or 1.3%, at 7,405.45
