Equities in Hong Kong were most noteworthy Thursday, on a day when many of the markets experienced growth.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 1,286.24 points, or 2.7%, to 49,823.94.
Chip-related stocks rallied on the index as investors cheered Nvidia’s quarterly report, with tech conglomerate SoftBank closing 1.89% higher, after skyrocketing as much as 8% earlier in the session. Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron soared 5.31%, Lasertec added 6.17%, and chipmaker Renesas Electron pared gains to trade 1.7% higher.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng eked ahead 4.92 points, or 0.02%, to 25,835.57.
The Hong Kong-listed shares of China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, fell as much as 8.75% Thursday as investors sought to lock in profits, following the expiry of a six-month sales restriction on about 77.5 million shares held by early stakeholders.
The 23 cornerstone investors include Sinopec HK, Kuwait Investment Authority and UBS Asset Management, according to the company’s prospectus.
CATL’s IPO in May raised HK$35.7 billion ($4.6 billion U.S.) according to a company filing, reportedly making it the largest offering this year globally, as investors bet on the company’s ability to ride the boom in electric vehicles. CATL shares on the Shenzhen stock exchange were also down 2.59%.
CATL’s shares were last trading 6.56% lower.
The upbeat investor sentiment also extended to South Korean memory chip makers, with SK Hynix trimming earlier gains to end 1.6% higher, while Samsung Electronics advanced 4.25%.
In Taiwan, shares of Nvidia chips manufacturer TSMC on the index advanced more than 4%, while Hon Hai Precision Industry — also known as Foxconn, and supplier to Nvidia — climbed 3.28%.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai dished off 23.34 points, or 0.5%, to 4,554.95
In Korea, the Kospi gained 75.34 points, or 1.9%, to 4,004.85.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched higher 6.65 points to 4,511.87
In Taiwan, the Taiex barged ahead 846.24 points, or 3.2%, to 27,426.36
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 104.85 points, or 1.2%, to 8,552.71.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recouped 112.51 points, or 0.8%, to 13,439.40.
