Asian stocks close mostly lower, pressured by technology stocks

Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday (5), as technology stocks retreated in the wake of fines imposed by China on industry giants and the recent jump in interest rates on Treasuries.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.64% to 22,907.25 points. Tech papers have suffered up to 11% declines after Beijing announced fines on several of China’s biggest internet companies for antitrust violations.

Real estate stocks also posted losses after a unit in China Evergrande revealed plans to defer interest payments on bonds.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite retreated 1.02%, to 3,595.18 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite was down 1.74%, to 2,483.69 points.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korean Kospi devalued 1.18% in Seoul, at 2,953.97 points, also pressured by technology companies.

Taiex dropped 0.14% in Taiwan, to 18,499.96 points, but the Japanese Nikkei bucked the region’s negative trend and rose 0.10% in Tokyo, to 29,332.16 points, supported by papers from the automotive sector.

In addition to the Chinese government’s offensives, Asian technology stocks are weighed down by the recent rise in Treasuries yields, which in turn reflects expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank) may start to raise its basic interest rates already at from March.

Yesterday in New York, that prospect helped topple the Nasdaq, which is largely made up of tech companies.

This Wednesday afternoon, the Fed releases the minutes of its last monetary policy meeting. In Oceania, the Australian stock market followed the prevailing tone in Asia, and the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.32% in Sydney, to 7,565.80 points.