Asian markets mixed after tech sell-off on Wall St
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday, as Chinese benchmarks stalled on concerns over big companies that might lose their listings on U.S. exchanges.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.1% and Seoul and Sydney logged modest gains. Hong Kong and Shanghai were flat.
Oil prices fell back after surging 6% on Wednesday on concerns over disruptions to shipping from a skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Efforts continue to free the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe that ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday it was adopting an interim rule that some foreign companies must provide documentation to show they are not owned or controlled by a government entity. The requirement mainly is expected to affect Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges and the SEC statement triggered selling of such companies in Hong Kong.
E-commerce giant Alibaba's shares lost 3.7%; Tencent Holdings' shed 3.7%; search engine company Baidu declined 8.6% and cell phone maker Xiaomi dropped 4.8%.
“Tech giants from Tencent and Alibaba hit the plunge pool after U.S. regulators rekindled threats to toss China’s most prominent corporations off U.S. bourses, compounding concerns of a widening domestic antitrust crackdown," Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.
Investors are keeping an eye on efforts to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is considering up to $3 trillion in additional spending on infrastructure, green energy, and education.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate she believes the U.S. government has more room to borrow, but...