Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks both pulled back on Tuesday, as investors worried that the Chinese securities regulator’s approvals of 24 initial public offerings might drain liquidity from mainland markets and dampen stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index faded from a series of 15-year highs, losing 11.72 points, or 0.1%, to 18,815.16
The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar to ¥119.76, from ¥119.96 at the previous stock close.
The Hang Seng Index tumbled 184.66 points, or 0.7%, to 24,702.78
Among top underperformers, Bank of China Ltd. lost 2.2% in Hong Kong, while tumbling 3.4% in Shanghai. Leading Chinese developer Poly Property Group Co. Ltd. skidded 4.8% in Hong Kong markets, and its Shanghai-traded Poly Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. sank 5.6%.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 dropped 93.37 points, or 2.6%, to 3,507.90
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the nation’s top securities regulator, announced late Monday that it had just approved the IPO plans of 24 companies. Of those, 12 would be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while the rest would go to Shenzhen markets.
Meanwhile, the H-shares of Industrial Commercial Bank of China Ltd. declined 1.8%, as its Shanghai-listed shares, or A-shares, slid 3.7%
In other markets
The Taiex index in Taiwan regained 4.41 points, or 0.1%, to 9,605.77
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 18.22 points, or 0.5%, to 3,422.11
The Kospi index in Korea gained 4.57 points, or 0.2%, to 2,001.38
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 nicked up 0.99 points to 5,893.66
The S&P/ASX index moved lower 24.98 points, or 0.4%, to 5,933.90
