Asian stock markets were largely in the red on Thursday, reflecting a cautious sentiment after negative cues from Wall Street.
Traders are awaiting regional economic data due later this week, while some investors booked profits following recent market gains.
Trading volumes remained subdued due to holidays in Japan and New Zealand.
Mainland China and Hong Kong stock dip sharply
China’s CSI 300 index dropped sharply, losing 1.61%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 2.18%.
Financial stocks came under pressure, with shares of China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Life Insurance, and Ping An Insurance all declining by more than 3% earlier in the day.
In Hong Kong, technology sector stock presented a mixed bag of movement on Thursday.
Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Meituan opened the trading session without major changes, maintaining their previous day’s closing levels.
Tencent bucked this trend, showing a modest 0.8% increase.
South Korea’s Kospi in red
South Korea’s Kospi index edged down 0.12%, while the Kosdaq gained 0.86%.
The markets opened an hour later than usual due to a New Year’s ceremony.
In a New Year’s address, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong emphasized a flexible and agile approach to monetary policy amid heightened global uncertainties.
The central bank has delivered back-to-back rate cuts for the first time since 2009, and its next interest rate decision is expected later this month.
Other regional markets
The Australian market managed to trade modestly higher after recouping losses from the previous sessions.
Gains in mining, technology, and energy stocks lifted the benchmark S&P/ASX 200, which was up 0.32% at 8,185.50.
The broader All Ordinaries Index also rose 0.33% to 8,448.60.
Australian stocks had closed significantly lower on Tuesday, just before Wednesday’s holiday.
Japanese markets remained closed for New Year holidays. They had ended significantly lower on Monday, reflecting pre-holiday caution.
Wall Street ends lower on Tuesday
Stocks showed little direction at the start of Tuesday’s session but turned mostly lower as the day progressed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the decline.
By the close, the Nasdaq had dropped 175.99 points, or 0.9%, to settle at 19,310.79, marking its lowest closing level in a month.
The S&P 500 also fell, losing 25.31 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 5,881.63.
Meanwhile, the Dow recorded a comparatively modest loss, edging down 29.51 points, or 0.1%, to close at 42,544.22.
The downward trend extended the sharp pullback seen in the previous two trading sessions, driven by traders cashing in on the substantial gains achieved earlier this year.
Wall Street has experienced heightened volatility in recent weeks, largely attributed to the Federal Reserve’s announcement earlier this month forecasting fewer rate cuts in 2025.
Overall trading activity on Tuesday was somewhat subdued ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
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