Asia-Pacific stocks posted gains on Wednesday, Aug 23. The Japanese market experienced its third consecutive session of growth while Hong Kong’s market saw its second consecutive session of gains.
Market Performance
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI rose by 0.3% to 17,845.92.
- The Nikkei 225 Index JP:NIK, which represents Japanese companies, increased by 0.5% to 32,010.26.
- China’s Shanghai Composite Index CN:SHCOMP dropped by 1.3% to 3,078.40.
- Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index SG:STI gained by 0.6% to 3,178.04.
- South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index KR:180721 declined by 0.4% to 2,505.50.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index AU:XJO increased by 0.4% to 7,148.40.
Top Performers
Among the constituents of the Nikkei 225 Index, Panasonic Holdings JP:6752, a personal electronics company, experienced the largest increase with a gain of 4.8%. Kansai Electric Power JP:9503, a multiutilities firm, and Sumitomo Pharma JP:4506, a pharmaceuticals company, also performed well, with gains of 4.0% and 3.8% respectively.
In Japan, Nippon Sheet Glass JP:5202, a glass/glass products company, saw the largest decrease on Wednesday, with shares falling by 5.7%. Nissan Chemical JP:4021, a fertilizers firm, and Mitsubishi JP:8058, a wholesalers company, also saw declines of 1.1%.
For the constituents of the Hang Seng Index, Anta Sports Products HK:2020, a sports clothing/footwear company, experienced the largest increase with shares rising by 9.7%. Baidu HK:9888, an internet search engines firm, and China Rscs Beer Holdings HK:291, an alcoholic beverages/drinks company, also showed gains of 4.4% and 2.9% respectively.
On the other hand, Country Garden Holdings HK:2007, a real estate services/transactions company, experienced the largest decrease in Hong Kong, with shares dropping by 6.7% on Wednesday. Xinyi Solar Holdings HK:968, a renewable energy equipment firm, and Galaxy Entertainment Grp HK:27, a gambling industries company, also weakened with declines of 3.1% and 2.5%.
