Hong Kong shares made a weak finish to the zodiac year in a session shortened by the festive break, with the absence of mainland buyers leaving the market to drift lower on Friday, while Japanese shares hit 34-year highs.
At the early close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 131.49 points, or 0.83 percent, at 15,746.58. For the week it rose 1.4 percent, but for the zodiac year of the Rabbit just ended, it dropped 28.6 percent as investors have streamed out of Chinese assets while the economy stuttered.
Hong Kong markets are closed until Feb. 14, while mainland China markets are closed until Feb. 19. Dealers said trade was quiet and the lack of inflow from the mainland contributed to the soft session.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“With China on holidays, that stock connect flow has been missing,” said Steven Leung (梁偉源) on the sales desk at UOB Kay Hian Holdings Ltd (大華繼顯控股) in Hong Kong. He said investors hope that mainland authorities will announce support for the markets during the holidays.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed slightly higher yesterday, supported by a weaker yen and a soaring Softbank Group Corp after the firm reported strong earnings, while the broader TOPIX was down on profit-taking.
The Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.09 percent, or 34.14 points, to 36,897.42, while the TOPIX index slipped 0.19 percent, or 4.75 points, to 2,557.88.
Photo: Reuters
Investors in Japan were also encouraged by remarks by Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida, who hinted the central bank will maintain its easy monetary policy stance even after ending its current negative benchmark rate.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added nearly 0.1 percent to 7,644.80 and Thailand’s SET edged 0.1 percent higher.
Indian stocks were also up, while Taipei, Shanghai, Seoul and Jakarta were closed for holidays.
Wall Street’s three main indices eked out fresh gains overnight, with the S&P 500 breaking 5,000 points for the first time towards the end of trade, before edging back, but still finishing at an all-time high.
US equities have continued their march higher this week as strong earnings from big-name firms and data showing resilience in the world’s number one economy helped overcome US Federal Reserve warnings that interest rates will not come down as early as hoped.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin joined several of his counterparts on Thursday in urging patience on cutting rates, adding that “no one wants inflation to re-emerge.”
He said the healthy run of data on the economy — particularly the labor market — had given the bank time to become confident that the slowdown in inflation is assured.
“For now the claims stats continue to suggest there are no firing pressures emerging in the US labour market,” National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril said.
However, he warned: “That said many US commentators note that there is a meaningful risk claims will rise over coming months, amid a burst in layoff announcements (including from Deloitte, Amazon and Tesla, among others).”
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