Shares in Chinese tech firms mostly rose in mixed Asia-Pacific trading on Monday, with oil prices falling more than 3%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 39.45 points, or 0.1%, to wrap up the week at 28,149.84.
The Japanese yen traded at 123.88 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 120 seen against the greenback last week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slumped 541.07 points, or 2.5%, to 21,404.88.
By the Hong Kong market close on Monday, shares of Meituan soared 11.56% while Tencent gained 2.81%.
Meituan on Friday posted better-than-expected revenue for the last three months of 2021. The company’s revenue for the fourth quarter came in at 49.52 billion yuan ($7.78 billion), above mean analyst expectations for a 49.2 billion yuan print, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.
The Hang Seng Tech index rose 2.62% to 4,491.01. Some Chinese tech stocks, however, slipped: JD.com dropped 1.75% while SenseTime shed 1.9%.
The Australian dollar was at $0.753, having risen from below $0.74 last week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 26.1 points, or 0.6%, to 4,148.47.
Data released over the weekend showed Chinese industrial profits grew in the first two months of the year. Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 5.0% for the January to February period as compared with a year earlier, according to data released Sunday.
Investors have been watching for clues on policy easing from Chinese authorities amid concerns over the outlook for the economic powerhouse as it grapples with issues such as its worst Covid outbreak since the initial height of the pandemic in early 2020. On Monday, China’s biggest city Shanghai began a two-stage lockdown.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 18.3 points, or 0.5%, to 3,442.99
In Korea, the Kospi index inched back 0.42 points to 2,729.56.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index swooned 156.94 points, or 0.9%, to 17,520.01.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 145.28 points, or 1.2%, to 11,909.72.
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 6.17 points, or 0.1%, to 7,412.42.
