Asian markets mixed; Hong Kong rattled by continued protests

By Marketwatch and Associated Press

Reuters

A worker is seen among newly manufactured cars awaiting export at port in Yokohama, Japan.

Asian stock markets finished mixed Thursday following Wall Street’s rebound as investors looked ahead to a speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman for clues about possible interest rate cuts.

Investor reaction was muted following Wednesday’s release of notes from the latest Fed meeting showing conflicting opinions about rates.

Benchmarks in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell, while Tokyo and Sydney climbed.

Investors are looking to Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech Friday for guidance about whether the Fed might cut rates at its next meeting in September. The Fed cut its key policy rate on July 31 for the first time in more than a decade, citing President Donald Trump’s tariff battle with Beijing and other possible threats to economic growth.

Markets have a “high degree of policy uncertainty” ahead of Powell’s speech and U.S.-China trade talks in September, said Stephen Innes of Oanda in a report.

Mixed views rates among Fed leaders are “well documented,” but the notes are a “reminder of how challenging it could be for Chair Powell to meet the market’s exceedingly dovish expectations,” said Innes.

The Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.33% dropped 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +0.64%  fell 0.8%. Investors remained nervous over unrest in Hong Kong as protestors briefly faced off with police at a suburban train station.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.29% finished flat, while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO -0.34% rose 0.3% to 6,505.90.

Preliminary data Wednesday showed Japan’s manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth consecutive month, according to Reuters . The Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.5 in August from 49.4 in July. Readings below 50 signify contraction.

Elsewhere, the Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed CN:399106 +0.64%   was about flat. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -0.34%   fell 0.7%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 -0.14%  , Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI -0.82%   and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX +0.24%   were mixed.

Among individual stocks, SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 +0.19%   fell in Tokyo trading, while Sony /zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed JP:6758 +0.98%   and Renesas Electronics /zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed JP:6723 +1.33%   slipped as well. In Hong Kong, Geely Automobile /zigman2/quotes/200716015/delayed HK:175 -0.33%   surged, while AAC /zigman2/quotes/201441510/delayed HK:2018 +0.46%   and Wharf Real Estate /zigman2/quotes/205885756/delayed HK:1997 +1.06%   declined. Samsung /zigman2/quotes/209800866/delayed KR:005930 -0.44%   dropped in South Korea, while Apple supplier Largan Precision /zigman2/quotes/210444196/delayed TW:3008 -1.65%   gained in Taiwan. In Australia, Beach Energy /zigman2/quotes/200513631/delayed AU:BPT +1.27%   and Fortescue Metals /zigman2/quotes/202351558/delayed AU:FMG +1.24%   rallied.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks finished higher after minutes from Federal Reserve’s July meeting offered few surprises and suggested that the central bank wanted to remain flexible in implementing policy changes.

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Add to watchlist CN:SHCOMP

Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,112.54

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Sept. 27, 2023 12:19p

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HK : Hong Kong Exchange

17,577.93

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NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

32,220.59

-94.46 -0.29%

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S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,014.40

-23.80 -0.34%

Volume: 386,171

Sept. 27, 2023 2:14p

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Shenzhen Composite Index

CN : Shenhzen Stock Exchange

1,906.74

+12.06 +0.64%

Volume: 20.78B

Sept. 27, 2023 11:30a

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KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,454.62

-8.35 -0.34%

Volume: 242,647

Sept. 27, 2023 1:14p

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Taiwan TAIEX

TW : Taiwan Stock Exchange

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SG : Singapore: SGX

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JSX Composite Index

ID : Indonesia Stock Exchange

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+16.88 +0.24%

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Sept. 27, 2023 11:24a

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SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 6,382.00

+12.00 +0.19%

Volume: 5.01M

Sept. 27, 2023 1:14p

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6.33

Dividend Yield

0.69%

Market Cap

¥7769.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥103.51M

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Sony Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 12,390.00

+120.00 +0.98%

Volume: 1.57M

Sept. 27, 2023 1:14p

P/E Ratio

16.40

Dividend Yield

0.65%

Market Cap

¥15367.16 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥107.89M

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Renesas Electronics Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,243.00

+29.50 +1.33%

Volume: 4.96M

Sept. 27, 2023 1:14p

P/E Ratio

11.95

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥4074.91 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥71.66M

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Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 9.11

-0.03 -0.33%

Volume: 12.85M

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P/E Ratio

16.03

Dividend Yield

2.31%

Market Cap

$93.69 billion

Rev. per Employee

$3.75M

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AAC Technologies Holdings Inc.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 13.06

+0.06 +0.46%

Volume: 1.13M

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P/E Ratio

23.56

Dividend Yield

0.92%

Market Cap

$16.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

$827,699

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Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 28.70

+0.30 +1.06%

Volume: 1.18M

Sept. 27, 2023 11:57a

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

4.46%

Market Cap

$87.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

$4.54M

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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 68,300.00

-300.00 -0.44%

Volume: 7.55M

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P/E Ratio

13.03

Dividend Yield

2.11%

Market Cap

₩459314.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

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LARGAN Precision Co. Ltd.

TW : Taiwan

NT$ 2,090.00

-35.00 -1.65%

Volume: 411,804

Sept. 27, 2023 12:09p

P/E Ratio

14.72

Dividend Yield

3.47%

Market Cap

NT$286.96 billion

Rev. per Employee

NT$5.79M

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Beach Energy Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 1.60

+0.02 +1.27%

Volume: 1.84M

Sept. 27, 2023 2:14p

P/E Ratio

9.11

Dividend Yield

2.50%

Market Cap

$3.66 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

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Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 20.36

+0.25 +1.24%

Volume: 2.68M

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P/E Ratio

8.80

Dividend Yield

8.60%

Market Cap

$64.04 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.47M