Asian stocks close mixed, with losses in China and recovery in Tokyo and HK

Asian stocks closed without a single direction on Tuesday, with those in China extending losses amid fears about the impacts of the local Covid-19 wave and others rebounding after the positive performance of Wall Street yesterday.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 1.44% to 2,886.43 points after falling 5.13% in the previous trading session, while the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite dropped 2.11% to 1,752.27 points.

Beijing has started mass testing of the local population and restricted movement in certain parts of the city, although it has recorded just 80 cases of Covid-19 since last Friday (22).

The fear is that the Chinese capital will end up instituting a broader lockdown, similar to the one that has been in place in Shanghai for more than two weeks.

Restriction measures tend to further slow down the Chinese economy, affecting the outlook for the global economy to recover.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.41% in Tokyo today at 26,700.11 points, while the Hang Seng rose 0.33% in Hong Kong (HK) at 19,934.71 points, the South Korean Kospi gained 0.42% in Seoul, at 2,668.31 points, and Taiex posted a modest gain of 0.14% in Taiwan, at 16,644.79 points.

Risk appetite in parts of the Asian region came after New York stocks ended up trading yesterday, boosted by billionaire Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and despite concerns over China.

In Hong Kong, however, a notable exception today was British bank HSBC, whose stock dropped more than 4%. HSBC, which is based in London but focuses on the Asian market, reported a drop in first-quarter profit and revenue.

In Oceania, the Australian stock exchange returned from a holiday reacting late to yesterday’s strong sell-off in Asia. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.08% in Sydney today to 7,318.00 on its worst day in more than two months.