SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific equities mixed at the close on Wednesday as optimism continued to boost U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting record highs overnight. Meanwhile, India’s benchmark index hit a record high.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.43% after jumping earlier.
Shares of Chinese technology listed in Hong Kong reduced morning gains and lost strength after meeting on Tuesday. Shares of Tencent rose 0.25% after jumping 3% earlier. Food distribution giant Meituan rose 2.25%, JD.com fell 3.64%, while Alibaba lost more than 1% investing morning gains.
The Shanghai compound jumped 0.74% and the Shenzhen component rose 0.23%.
On Tuesday, the country’s cybersecurity regulator said Chinese companies that want to go public (including those that plan to make a list abroad) must comply with two main aspects of a broader set of regulations. These remarks come as the uncertainty of this summer’s policy has essentially halted Chinese listings in the United States, following an increase in overseas offerings earlier this year.
Other Asia-Pacific markets are on the rise
According to data from Refinitiv Eikon, India’s Sensex index hit a record of about 56,118 in the morning. It has since fallen slightly from this level, but was still trading at around 0.16%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan traded almost to close at 27,724.80, while the Topix rose marginally to 1,935.66.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.27% to 3,146.81.
In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 rose 0.39% to close at 7,531.90.
Iron ore prices soared, boosting mining stocks. They shot up nearly 9% on Tuesday, according to Vivek Dhar, a commodity analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Mining stocks in Australia ended the day higher. Rio Tinto jumped 2.6% and Fortescue Metals rose 2.63%. BHP rose 1.25%.
Covid’s fears, meanwhile, continue to dominate Australia as Sydney cases hit a new daily high on Wednesday and put parts of the healthcare system under “strong pressure,” officials said, according to Reuters.
Optimism about the full approval of the Pfizer Covid vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration continued to lift U.S. markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.55 points, or less than 0.1%, to 35,366.26. The S&P 500 added 0.1% to a new closing high of 4,486.23. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 15,019.80, also a new closing high.
Chinese stocks led the Nasdaq as investors gain more clarity about China’s regulatory outlook and buy stocks of names that have been mistreated recently.
“Markets continue to catch fire from the glow of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which received regulatory approval on Monday, which is paving the way for organizations to demand vaccines from workers and therefore raise vaccination rates.” , said Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
“China’s delta outbreak also appears to be under control for two consecutive days with no new domestic cases … while the PBoC promised to increase credit support for smaller businesses and the real economy,” he said.