Asian shares up, with Hang Seng index trading 2% higher

Asian shares were mixed on Monday as stocks in Hong Kong led gains regionally. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended the session 1.96% higher at 25,325.09.

Meituan’s shares in Hong Kong increased 8.36%. On Friday, China’s market regulator reported it had fined the firm around 3.4 billion Chinese yuan ($527.71 million) after finding it guilty of monopolistic practices. However, that was far smaller than the 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) fine that the e-commerce giant Alibaba had been slapped with back in April.

Additionally, other Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong also witnessed sizable gains. Tencent gained 2.95%, whereas Alibaba boosted 7.91%. The Hang Seng Tech index gained 3.17% to close at 6,403.69.

The Shanghai composite on mainland China closed slightly changed at 3,591.71. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen component fell 0.323% on the day to 14,367.60.

Furthermore, travel-related stocks in Singapore grew. Singapore Airlines gained by more than 7%, while SATS gained around 4% on Monday. As we know, SATS provides ground handling and in-flight catering services. 

The gains were led by Singapore authorities’ announcement over the weekend that more vaccinated travel lanes are set to open in more countries. Meanwhile, the Straits Times index in Singapore was slightly changed.

The Nikkei 225 closed 1.6% higher in Japan at 28,498.20. Meanwhile, the Topix index gained 1.77% to end the trading day at 1,996.58.

Moreover, shares in Australia lagged, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.28% to settle at 7,299.80.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, advanced 0.69%.

Additionally, markets in South Korea are closed on October 11 for a holiday.

The market is now waiting for major banks in the U.S. to publish their Q3 earnings this week

European stocks were muted on October 11. The pan-European Stoxx 600 wavered around the flatline in early trade. Remarkably, travel and leisure stocks dropped 1.1%, while basic resources increased 1.4%.

According to the Labor Department report on Friday, U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by just 194,000 in September. The data is sharply lower than the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000.

Moreover, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.8%, above expectations for 5.1% and the lowest since February 2020.

On October 10, Goldman Sachs lowered its forecast for U.S. economic growth to 5.6% in 2021 and 4% in 2022. It cited a drop-off in fiscal support and a slower consumer spending rebound.

The market is now waiting for major banks in the U.S. to kick off their third-quarter earnings this week. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup will publish their report starting Wednesday.

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