Wednesday’s trading on the main Asian stock markets was in a very contradictory spirit. While the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges rose solidly, the Seoul market firmed only slightly, and Tokyo weakened.
China’s markets were particularly drawn up by the technology segment. The Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index added half a percent, but the technology index firmed 1.7 percent. Indeed, the growth of the technology segment in Shenzhen has exceeded the 2% pace. Technology titles strengthened mainly thanks to chip manufacturers. The market expects positive financial results from these companies in the first half of the year, having benefited from global growth in demand for an important component for the production of computers as well as cars.
The Seoul Stock Exchange was also riding a similar wave. While the KOSPI index gained only a negligible 0.3 percent, technology companies’ shares rose mostly in the range of one to two percent.
By contrast, Tokyo’s main Nikkei index weakened slightly in midweek, largely due to reports of an unfavorable epidemic situation. In Japan, the so-called Indian version of coronavirus is spreading, raising investors’ fears of reintroducing anti-epidemic measures. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also weakened 0.57 percent.
