Shares in India were little changed, with the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex both trading near the flatline
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday, as the Reserve Bank of India held steady on interest rates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped nearly 0.3%, as of its final hour of trading. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite gained 0.21% on the day to 3,591.84 while the Shenzhen component added 0.744% to finish at 14,870.91.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4% to finish at 28,941.52 while the Topix index closed the trading day fractionally higher at 1,959.19. South Korea’s Kospi finished 0.23% lower at 3,240.08.
Meanwhile, stocks in Australia gained, with the S&P/ASX 200 0.49% higher on the day to 7,295.40.
Shares in India were little changed in Friday trade, with the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex both trading near the flatline. The moves came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced its decision to keep interest rates steady.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.27%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba declined 0.57% in Friday afternoon trade. The losses came despite Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group receiving approval to operate a consumer finance company. That marked a major positive development for Ant in the forced restructuring of its business months after its highly anticipated debut was abruptly shelved.
Other Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech firms also declined: Baidu tumbled 3.04% while Tencent slipped 1.22% and Meituan shed 2.41%. The broader Hang Seng Tech index dropped 0.92%.
Investor sentiment on the sector may have taken a hit after U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded restrictions on American investments in certain Chinese firms. Chinese telecommunications powerhouse Huawei Technologies was among the 59 companies named.
Technology stocks elsewhere declined in Friday trade. Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group dropped 1.29% while South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix lost 0.39%.
