Asia report: Chinese property stocks lead Hong Kong surge

(Sharecast News) - Markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed Tuesday's trading session in a mixed state, with considerable gains registered in China and Hong Kong on the back of a fresh pledge of support for the country's ailing property sector. Japan and New Zealand's benchmarks meanwhile traded in negative territory.

"The rally in Chinese stocks came after the country's Politburo made support pledges, boosting investor sentiment," said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

"However, gains in the rest of the region were limited due to soft global PMI data and caution ahead of upcoming risk events.

"The Nikkei 225 index in Japan lagged, with uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Bank of Japan meeting.

"Reports suggested that the central bank is considering a significant increase in its 2023 inflation outlook, possibly raising it to around 2.5%."

Hong Kong surge leads gainers on mixed day for region

China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 2.13% higher at 3,231.52 points, and the Shenzhen Component saw an increase of 2.54%, finishing at 11,021.29.

The upward movement in Shanghai was fuelled by significant gains in Chongqing Dima Industry, up by 10.12%, and Beijing Urban Construction, which jumped by 10.09%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged more than 4% to close at 19,434.40, led by strong performances in the real estate sector.

The leap was prompted by China's politburo pledging to "adjust and optimise policies in a timely manner" to support the ailing property sector.

Country Garden Services, Longfor Properties, and Country Garden Holdings enjoyed sizable gains of 26.45%, 25.58%, and 18.25% respectively.

On the other hand, Japan's Nikkei 225 edged down 0.06% to finish at 32,682.51 points, while the broader Topix index added 0.18% to end at 2,285.38.

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, Chugai Pharmaceutical, and Toho were among the top losers, sliding by 2.63%, 1.89%, and 1.88% respectively.

South Korea's Kospi 100 made a marginal gain of 0.04% to close at 2,599.85 points.

Korea Zinc and Posco International led the rise with gains of 14.59% and 12.73% respectively.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.46% to 7,339.70 points, with Pilbara Minerals and Champion Iron among the leaders, gaining 5.23% and 4.96% respectively.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 closed down by 0.7% at 11,933.86.

NZX and Skellerup were among the biggest fallers, losing 4.07% and 3.7% respectively.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the US dollar, last rising 0.08% to JPY 141.36.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars also appreciated against the greenback, with the Aussie and Kiwi advancing 0.57% and 0.23% to change hands at AUD 1.4754 and NZD 1.6080, respectively.

In commodity markets, Brent crude futures were last down 0.4% on ICE at $82.41 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.37% to $78.45 per barrel.

South Korea's GDP growth surpasses economist predictions

In economic news, South Korea's economy showed steady year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2023, meeting the previous quarter's performance and exceeding expert forecasts.

The country's economy registered a growth rate of 0.9% year-on-year in the April-to-June quarter, mirroring the same rate observed in the first quarter, according to fresh figures on Tuesday.

That result surpassed the 0.8% GDP growth that economists polled by Reuters had pencilled in.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.