Shares of Samsung Electronics and SMIC on October 8

It was a positive day for stocks in the Asia-Pacific, as most of them saw gains on the day. Interestingly, shares of Samsung Electronics fell on October 8, and shares of China’s largest chipmaker SMI dropped 1.5%. Let’s have a look at the stocks in Asia-Pacific before discussing the shares of famous companies.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.96% to close at 23’647.07. In the meantime, the Topix index gained 0.55% to end its trading day at 1’655.47.

Interestingly, South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 0.21% on the day to 2’391.96. As stated above, shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined on Thursday, by 0.33%. Importantly, the firm announced earlier its profit for the three months that ended in September likely rose 58% compared to the same period of time in 2019.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.09% to close at 6’102.

However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.2% to close at 24’193.35.

Hong Kong-listed shares of largest chipmaker

The shares of SMIC listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange dropped 1.05% on Thursday. As a reminder, S&P Global Ratings placed the chipmaker on a negative credit watch. This news had a negative impact on the shares of SMIC.

Based on the information provided by the S&P Global Ratings, the company currently has a long-term credit rating of “BBB-”.

According to the ratings firm, SMIC could potentially face supply chain risks, with likely export restrictions from the U.S. This is not the end of the story, as it could lower the rating if the export restrictions significantly affect the firm’s wafer fabrication, limit its ability to expand capacity. However, there are other factors as well.

Last but not least, the mover downward in SMIC shares came at a time when Chinese tech stocks saw mixed moves. For example, Xiaomi fell 3.92% while Tencent was flat. Moreover, Alibaba added 0.49%. Importantly, the Hang Seng Tech index advanced 0.22% to 7’511.11.  

Investors continued to monitor the situation, as they wanted to learn more about the fate of the U.S. stimulus package.