Investing.com – Asian stocks posted started Thursday in the red, with China and Hong Kong giving up some modest gains shortly after opening while South Korea, Japan and Australia all posted gains.
While still feeling the pressure from rising yields in U.S. Treasuries, U.S. markets managed to eke out small gains on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.25% and the S&P 500 rose 0.18%. The Nasdaq gave up just 0.05%, as tech stocks continued to struggle.
Treasury yields continued to rise on Wednesday, shoring up the U.S. dollar but also pressuring stocks. The yield on 10-year notes continued their rise after topping 3% on Tuesday, the highest level since January 2014.
Stock markets throughout Asia posted generally in the red by 9:50PM ET (01:50 GMT).
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 0.46% after finishing sharply lower on Wednesday, with losses across a variety of sectors including financials, insurance, oil and casinos.
One stock in focus is Lenovo Group (HK:0992), which has faced significant pressure, dropping after losing more than 10% in the last month. Computer-maker Lenovo Group (HK:0992)was down 0.81% to HK$3.69 in Thursday morning trade in Asia. Reports have that Lenovo is currently the most shorted stock on the Hang Seng Index at the moment have only added to the pressure. After the drop, Lenovo is close to losing its spot on the index that tracks the 40 largest companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.53% shortly after opening on Thursday. The Shenzhen Composite Index was down 1.15%.
Investors in Asia are still looking for clarity on the prospects for interest rate increases from the U.S. Federal Reserve and what that might mean for the greenback, which has been increasing. Oil prices are also rising, adding to costs and raising the spectre of inflation.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading up 0.46% halfway into the morning session. Investors in Japan are not looking to Friday and the latest policy decision from the Bank of Japan as well as its quarterly outlook.
South Korea's Kospi was up 1.14%, regaining lost ground from Wednesday. Investors there, as in much of the rest of Asia, are keeping an eye on a meeting Friday between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea, that could go some way towards alleviating some geopolitical worries. In focus was Samsung (KS:005930), which reported a sixth quarter of record profits Thursday and may have helped turn the slump in tech stocks. Samsung shares climbed more than 3% in the morning.
Coming off the ANZAC Day holiday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 in Sidney was up a modest 0.23%.