Shares in China lagged among Asia-Pacific markets on Tuesday, with the release of much better-than-expected Chinese economic data offering little respite.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index crept up 38.63 points, or 0.2%, to 25,346.48.
The Japanese yen traded at 117.96 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels around 118.40 seen against the greenback earlier.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was again hammered, this time, 1,116.58 points, or 5.7%, to 18,415.08, its lowest close since Feb. 2016, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.
Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong were volatile in trading through the day. The Hang Seng Tech index tumbled more than 7% in morning trade, then briefly crossed into positive territory before erasing those gains, falling 8.1% on the day to 3,472.42.
As investors continued to assess the prospect of potential delistings from U.S. exchanges, dual-listed Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong plunged: Alibaba was 11.9% lower while JD.com fell 10.1% and NetEase shed 7.7%.
Electric vehicle maker Nio, another dual-listed stock, fell 12.8% after its U.S. listed-shares plunged overnight on renewed delisting fears.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7182 following yesterday’s decline from above $0.728.
CHINA
Sentiment on Chinese tech shares had taken a hit on Monday following a report that Tencent could face a record fine for violating anti-money laundering rules.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 190.95 points, or 4.6%, to 3,983.81.
Data released Tuesday showed Chinese industrial output rising 7.5% year-on-year in January and February as compared with a year earlier, higher than the 3.9% increase predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Retail sales in China for the first two months of the year also beat expectations, gaining 6.7% in January and February as compared with expectations for a 3% rise by analysts in a Reuters poll.
However, China is currently facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020, with major cities including Shenzhen rushing to limit business activity.
In other markets,
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched forward 4.01 points, or 0.1%, to 3,236.04
In Korea, the Kospi index shed 24.12 points, or 0.9%, to 2,621.53
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slumped 336.98 points, or 2%, to 16,926.06.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 3.37 points to 11,801.73.
In Australia, the ASX 200 declined 51.96 points, or 0.7%, to 7,097.45.
