People wearing masks walk in front of the Hong Kong skyline on October 17, 2022 in Hong Kong, China.
Vernon Yuen | Nurfoto | Getty Images
Shares in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets fell sharply on Monday, while other major Asia-Pacific markets rose.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 6.36% to 15,180.69, its lowest level since April 2009, with the Hang Seng Tech Index down more than 9%.
Tai Hui, APAC chief market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said a combination of factors has been driving the Hong Kong market recently, including higher US Treasury yields.
Investors had also expected policy measures to be announced during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which closed at the weekend with loyalists of President Xi Jinping selected to form a central leadership group.
“Since the meeting is mainly about personnel changes, the economic recovery may not come as soon as we expected,” Tai told CNBC in an email.
Markets in mainland China briefly entered positive territory on better-than-expected economic data before falling again. The Shanghai Composite in mainland China fell 2.02% to 2,977.56, and the Shenzhen component lost 2.055% to 10,694.61.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.54% to 6,779.40. The Kospi in South Korea gained 1.04% to 2,236.16, and the Kosdaq added 2.08% to 688.50.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.31% to 26,974.90 and the Topix rose 0.28% to 1,887.19. The broader index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 1.94% lower.
Japan’s authorities intervened in the foreign exchange market on Friday, causing the yen to strengthen sharply. But the coin continued to seesaw. In Asia on Monday, the currency briefly strengthened to 145 levels but was last at 149.25 per dollar.
US stocks soared on Friday after a Wall Street Journal report that some Fed officials are worried about tightening policy too much. On Friday in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 748.97 points, or 2.47%, to close at 31,082.56. The S&P 500 added 2.37% to 3,752.75. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.31% to 10,859.72.
Markets in Singapore, Malaysia and India are closed for public holidays on Monday. Later this week, the Bank of Japan will meet, while Singapore and Australia are expected to release inflation data.