Hong Kong stocks pulled back Wednesday, as a slide in the top-weighted HSBC Holdings PLC dragged the benchmark index lower, while investors also took a cautious stance after the Chinese central bank said it would maintain a steady monetary policy.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index plummeted 213.08 points, or 0.9%, to 24,315.02.
The biggest drag came as banking major HSBC, which carries a more than 12% weighting on the Hang Seng, extended its weakness from previous sessions after a report on alleged tax evasion at its Swiss unit. Shares of HSBC tumbled 2.2%, while fellow London-based lender Standard Chartered plc slid 2.4%.
Japanese markets were shuttered for a holiday
CHINA
Major Chinese banks were mostly lower, after the People’s Bank of China said in its quarterly report on Tuesday that it would keep monetary policy steady and create a "neutral and moderate" financial environment for China’s economic restructuring.
The Shanghai CS300 index gained 27.18 points, or 0.8%, to 3,434.12
China Construction Bank Corporation lost 1%, both Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. fell 0.9%, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. dropped 0.8%, while China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd. rose 0.4%.
In other markets;
The Kospi in Korea regained 9.84 points, or 0.5%, to 1,945.70
In Taiwan, the Taiex index hiked 68.52 points, or 0.7%, to 9,462.22
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index took on 10.33 points, or 0.3%, to 3,444.57
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index added 5.09 points, or 0.1%, to 5.789.18
The S&P/ASX index decreased 31.48 points, or 0.5%, to 5,769.08
