Chinese Stocks Rise as Australian Shares Hit 15-month Low

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, with the Chinese and Hong Kong markets finishing modestly higher, while markets elsewhere across the region closed mostly lower on worries about corporate earnings and slowing global growth.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,651.51 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.5 percent to finish at 25,971.41.

Meanwhile, Japanese shares ended modestly lower after reaching three-week lows earlier in the day amid falling oil prices and worries about weak global growth.

The Nikkei 225 Index fell as low as 21,243.38 in early trading before recouping most of its losses to end the session down 75.58 points or 0.4 percent at 21,507.54. The broader Topix Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 1,615.89.

Sumitomo Corp, Inpex, Credit Saison, Dentsu, Takeda Pharma and Olympus slumped 3-9 percent. Department store operator Takashimaya plummeted 16 percent after unveiling fund raising plans.

On the other hand, Nissan Motor climbed 0.4 percent after recent steep losses following the arrest of its chairman Carlos Ghosn. Tech stocks also rebounded, with Advantest climbing 4.5 percent and Tokyo Electron rallying 4.9 percent.

Australian stocks hit a 15-month low before ending off their worst levels, dragged down by mining and energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 29.00 points or 0.5 percent to 5,642.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 37.10 points or 0.6 percent at 5,722.10.

Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell over 3 percent as base metal prices fell on worries about global growth amid ongoing uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade war.

Woodside Petroleum, Origin Energy and Santos lost 2-4 percent after oil plunged as much as 7 percent on Tuesday to enter a bear market on worries about rising global supplies and fears of an economic slowdown.

Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers nosedived 27.7 percent after the demerger of its supermarket division Coles Group.

Meanwhile, Reject Shop soared 14 percent after the discount retailer said it would consider a “somewhat opportunistic” A$78 million takeover bid for it from Allensford.

The big four banks rose between half a percent and 1.2 percent, while investment bank Macquarie Group declined 1.9 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay Touch Group fell more than 5 percent and Computershare lost 3 percent.