Hang Seng index was flat at open, China’s CSI 300 index gained 0.16%, Nikkei 225 dropped 0.19% the Kospi 18.7% higher for the year and the Kosdaq climbed 27.5%
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on the last trading day of 2023, with investors evaluating prospects of electric-vehicle firms after China’s Xiaomi unveiled its first EV.
Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi on Thursday detailed plans to enter China’s oversaturated electric-vehicle market. Hong Kong shares of the firm dropped more than 3% after open.
The firm seeks to compete with automaker giants Tesla and Porsche with a car model it says it spent over 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) to develop.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was flat at open, while China’s CSI 300 index gained 0.16%.
China and Hong Kong indexes rallied more than 2% each in the earlier session, but were still set to be the biggest percentage losers for the year among major Asia-Pacific markets.
China’s CSI 300 index is 11.8% lower for the year, while the Hang Seng has slumped 13.8% in 2023.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.19%, but the index has added 28.5% so far this year, making it Asia’s top-performing market.
The broader Topix was up 0.24%, after having soared more than 25% in 2023.
South Korea markets were shut on Friday, with the Kospi 18.7% higher for the year and the Kosdaq climbing 27.5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.22%, cooling off from two consecutive sessions of gains, but was still 7.76% higher for the year.
Overnight, the S&P 500 closed marginally up Thursday, closing in on a new all-time high in the concluding trading day of the year.
The broad market index gained 0.04% to end at 4,783.35, putting it near its highest closing level of 4,796.56 set in January 2022.
