Asia Stocks Mixed; Shares Of Chinese Developer Fantasia Plunge In Return To Trade
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Wednesday as investors reacted to the release of Chinese inflation data for October.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.74% to close at 24,996.14.
Shares of Chinese real estate firm Fantasia Holdings in Hong Kong plunged 36.61% after returning to trade. Fantasia — whose Hong Kong-listed stock was suspended for more than a month — failed to repay a $206 million bond that matured early October.
Other real estate shares listed in Hong Kong rose, with China Evergrande Group jumping 3.04% while China Vanke gained 5.86%, Country Garden surged 7.9% and Sunac China soared 14.91%. The Hang Seng Properties index climbed 3.06% to 30,856.58.
Mainland Chinese stocks finished the trading day lower as the Shanghai composite fell 0.41% to 3,492.46 while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.385% to 14,515.88.
China’s consumer inflation for October came in roughly in line with expectations, according to official data released Wednesday. The consumer price index for October rose 1.5% from last year, against expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4% increase.
Producer prices, however, rose more than expected. The producer price index for October surged 13.5% from last year, above expectations in a Reuters poll for a 12.4% gain.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.09%, closing at 2,930.17.
Shares in Australia edged lower on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 declining 0.14% to 7,423.90.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.13%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 94.104 following a recent bounce from around 93.9.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.11 per dollar, stronger than levels above 113.5 seen against the greenback earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7367 following a recent drop from above $0.74.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.6% to $85.29 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.2% to $84.32 per barrel.
– CNBC