Investing.com – Asian equities were mixed in afternoon trade on Thursday, with Japanese and Korean equities in green but Hong Kong, Chinese and Australian losing. As the rising yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries that topped 3% continued to weigh on investor sentiment, tech stocks remained in focus in the Asian stock market.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.12% to 2,476.22 at 01:18AM ET (05:18 GMT). South Korean telecoms giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) posted better-than-expectation profits that surged 52% in the first quarter. The increase was attributed to the strong demand for memory chips. Its stock price rose 2.78% on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.39% to 22,303.00. Nintendo Co Ltd (T:7974), a major company in Japan, is set to report quarterly earnings.
In Greater China, stocks fell as tech firms were under pressure amid Huawei probe. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.06%, Shanghai Composite was down 1.17% and Shenzhen Composite Index was down 1.67%.
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technology Co Ltd (SZ:002502) dropped 1.53%. The U.S. Justice Department has joined two other agencies probing Huawei Technologies for possible violations of sanctions banning sales to Iran. Since at least 2016, U.S. authorities have been probing Huawei\'s alleged shipping of U.S.-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws.
Investor worries over ZTE Corp-H (HK:0763) ban have not eased as the fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China linger. A representative of the chip maker suggested the trade dispute with Beijing may have contributed to the U.S. ordering to ban American firms from selling goods to the company.
Under pressure, Hong Kong’s heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) further gave up 1.19% to HK$381.90, reaching a three-month low. Computer-maker Lenovo Group (HK:0992) was also down 3.49% to HK$3.60.
On a side note, financial heavyweight China Construction Bank Corp (SS:601939) is due to announce its quarterly earnings.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.21%.