Stock markets were mixed in Asia on Wednesday, with the technology sector in Hong Kong giving up some earlier gains, having rocketed ahead on Tuesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.03% at 27,724.80, as the yen weakened 0.12% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 109.78.
Fashion firm Fast Retailing was down 0.33%, while among the benchmark’s other major components, automation specialist Fanuc was up 1.17% and SoftBank Group rose 0.55%.
The broader Topix index eked out gains of 0.08% by the end of the day in Tokyo, closing at 1,935.66.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.74% at 3,540.38, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 0.46% firmer at 2,475.09.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.27% higher at 3,146.81, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slipped 0.13% to 25,693.95.
Technology plays in the special administrative region pared earlier gains by the end of trading, with Alibaba closing down 1.44%, while JD.com was up 5%, Meituan added 2.34% and Tencent 0.55% higher.
The blue-chip technology stocks were mixed in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics up 0.13% and SK Hynix 1.43% weaker.
“Asia-Pacific markets have performed well this week, as the ‘Delta’ outbreak in China appears to have subsided,” said AvaTrade chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.
“There haven’t been any new domestic cases in the last two days.
“Furthermore, the Chinese central bank has stated that it will boost credit support to businesses in order to help the country’s real economy grow.”
Oil prices were lower at the end of the Asian day, with Brent crude last down 0.13% at $70.96 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.33% at $67.32.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39% to 7,531.90, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 added 0.78% to 13,173.48.
The down under dollars were both stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.07% at AUD 1.3768, and the Kiwi advancing 0.15% to NZD 1.4359.
