Chinese Stocks Suffered the Biggest Losses

Stocks are susceptible to various risk factors. For example, stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as investors continued to monitor the pandemic in China along with moves in the Japanese yen.

Chinese stocks declined on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.26% to end its trading day at 3,079.81. The Shenzhen component declined 2.703% to close at 11,084.28.

Shares of Chinese oil firm China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), nevertheless, jumped more than 27% from their issue price as they made their Shanghai debut. Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC, on the other hand, fell 2.51%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.25% to 20,682.22.

Investors are closely monitoring the situation in China as they would like to learn more about the pandemic and its impact on the country. Authorities are trying to deal with the country’s worst outbreak since the initial outbreak in 2020. In spite of the challenges, China is not willing to change its policy. The country’s strict zero-Covid policy raised questions about its economic outlook. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 1.23% to finish its trading day at 27,553.06. The Topix index added 0.67% to 1,928.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.35% to 2,728.21. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.31% to close at 7,592.80. 

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday

U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday as investors analyzed more quarterly results, including strong earnings from Tesla, and awaited a policy speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 230 points or 0.6%. The S&P 500 advanced 1% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.7%. All of them are on course to end the week higher. 

The shares of Tesla jumped 9% after better-than-expected earnings. United Airlines gained 8% after it forecasted a profit in 2022. The airline expects to turn a profit in 2022 for the first since before the pandemic as bookings rise and passengers appear willing to pay to fly.