Mainland Chinese Stocks Declined on March 9

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on March 9, as markets in Hong Kong and mainland China struggled to recover from losses seen earlier in the week.

Mainland Chinese stocks suffered losses on March 9. The Shanghai composite dropped 1.13% to end its trading day at 3,256.39. Meantime, the Shenzhen component fell 1.122% to close at 12,107.17. 

The CSI 300 index, which tracks the largest stocks listed in mainland China, fell 0.92% to 4,226.35. All Chinese indexes stated earlier fell more than 3% each.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 0.67% to finish its trading day at 20,627.71.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.3% to end its trading day at 24,717.53. The Topix index was fractionally lower at 1,758.89 on March 9.

On March 9, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 1.04% to 7,053.

Markets in South Korea were closed on March 9 due to the country’s presidential election.

U.S. stocks and risk factors

U.S. stocks posted sharp gains on March 9 as recently surging commodity prices, especially oil, cooled off while the war in Ukraine continues.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 653.61 points to 33,286.25, supported by gains in Salesforce, Nike, and JPMorgan. The S&P 500 gained 2.6% to 4,277.88, its best result in more than a year. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.6% to 13,255.55, for its best day since November 2020, helped by strong gains in mega-cap technology darlings.

Certain consumer-related stocks strengthened their positions on March 9 after weakness on fears that higher gas prices would dent consumer spending. Nike gained 4.7% and Starbucks advanced 4.3%. 

Cruise lines and airlines rose on March 9. Carnival Corp. gained 8.8% and United Air Lines added 8.3%. 

Moreover, bank stocks moved higher as yields rose. Bank of America added 6.4% and Wells Fargo advanced 5.8%. Goldman Sachs gained 3.8%.