Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Friday (5) amid renewed concerns about the fragile financial situation of the Chinese real estate sector.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 1.41%, to 24,870.51 points, pressured by shares of Chinese developers such as Evergrande (-2.54%), which has been facing serious liquidity problems in recent months, raising fears about the strength of China’s real estate industry.
The bad mood was sparked by the suspension of deals in shares of Chinese developer Kaisa in Hong Kong after the company’s finance unit failed to pay a debt on a wealth management product. Like Evergrande, Kaisa is a major bond issuer in the international market.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1% to 3,491.57 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite retreated 0.77% to 2,406.42 points.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Japanese Nikkei was down 0.61% in Tokyo, at 29,611.57 points, and the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.47% in Seoul, at 2,969.27 points.
Exception in Asia, Taiex rose 1.28% in Taiwan, to 17,296.90 points.
In Oceania, the Australian stock bucked the predominantly negative tone of Asia, and the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.39% in Sydney, to 7,456.90 points, in the wake of new records from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq yesterday on Wall Street.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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