Investors, as well as analysts from around the world, are monitoring the situation in the U.S. It is not surprising as they want to know who will become the president of a country with the largest economy in the world. The incumbent President Donald Trump or Joe Biden. It is worth mentioning that, stocks in the major Asia-Pacific market strengthened their positions on Wednesday, except for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200. Let’s have a look at the stocks across Asia-Pacific to learn more about the situation.
Interestingly, mainland Chinese stocks saw gains on the day. The Shanghai Composite added 0.19% to about 3’277.44. At the same time, the Shenzhen Composite gained 0.585% to around 13’659.50.
As mentioned earlier, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.21% to 24’886.14.
However, Japanese stocks strengthened their positions on November 4. The Nikkei 225 added 1.72% to close at 23’695.23. In the meantime, the Topix index gained 1.2% to finish its trading day at 1’627.25.
South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.6% advanced to 2’357.32.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slightly fell to 6’062.10.
It is worth noting that, Hong Kong listed-shares of Alibaba dropped on Wednesday. The anticipated initial public offering of affiliate Ant Group was suspended due to regulatory concerns. This decision had a negative impact on Alibaba.
The shares of Alibaba fell 7.54%. As a reminder, Alibaba owns a roughly 33% stake in Ant Group.
Interestingly, this week the Chinese central bank, as well as regulators, issued new draft rules for online micro-lending. New rules could affect the Ant Group. People should take into account that, Ant Group was looking to raise just under $34.5 billion, with a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong initially planned for Thursday.
Stocks and various factors
There are numerous factors that have the potential to affect stocks and let’s have a look at some of them. Australia’s retail turnover dropped 1.1% in September 2020 on a seasonally-adjusted basis. This information came from the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
Importantly, a private survey also showed China’s service sector activity growing in October. It is worth noting that, the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ index came in at 56.8.
Last but not least, investors focus on Wednesday, was also likely on the U.S. presidential election. It will take time to count all votes and this process is not over. Investors are closely watching the process as they want to gather as much information as possible. Millions of people are waiting for the final result.
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