Japan’s Nikkei surges nearly 2%; property shares in Hong Kong decline on tax fears
SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday trade after major indexes on Wall Street rose to record closing highs stateside.
Japanese stocks led gains regionally as the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.85% while the Topix index gained 1.2%.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.63%. South Korea’s gross domestic product grew 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the third quarter of 2021 as compared with the previous quarter, data showed Tuesday. That was lower than a median 0.6% growth expected in a Reuters survey.
Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher as the Shanghai composite gained about 0.1% while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.276%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lagged the overall region, slipping 0.39%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose slightly.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.17% higher.
China property stocks fall on tax fears
Real estate stocks in Hong Kong declined in Tuesday trade amid fears that Beijing could tax property owners.
Shares of debt-ridden developer China Evergrande Group plunged 5.99% while China Vanke fell 5.13% and Country Garden dropped 3.67%. The Hang Seng Properties index slipped 1.72%.
Those losses came after China’s top executive body was authorized over the weekend to conduct a property tax test for five years in unspecified regions.
EV battery maker stocks mostly surge
Shares of electric vehicle battery makers in Asia-Pacific soared in Tuesday morning trade after car rental firm Hertz announced it will be ordering 100,000 vehicles from Tesla by the end of 2022.
In Japan, Panasonic shares jumped 5.4%. South Korea’s LG Chem, owner of electric battery maker LG Energy Solution, gained 1.22%. Over in mainland China, however, shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology dipped 0.547% after earlier surging more than 4%.
Electric vehicle stocks in Hong Kong also jumped, with shares of BYD rising 3.63% and Xpeng soaring 11.37%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 sailed to record closing highs on Monday. The Dow rose 64.13 points to 35,741.15 while the S&P 500 gained 0.47% to 4,566.48. The Nasdaq Composite also advanced 0.9% to 15,226.71.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.892 after a recent jump from below 93.6.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.87 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 114 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7511, against an earlier low of $0.7482.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.17% to $86.14 per barrel. U.S. crude futures traded fractionally higher at $83.83 per barrel.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
