Stocks in Asia-Pacific Were Mixed on January 5

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on January 5, as technology stocks in the region came under pressure amid rising U.S. bond yields.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent dropped 4.31% on January 5. One day earlier, the tech giant announced that it will be divesting 2.6% of its equity interest in Sea Limited. 

Shares of other Chinese tech companies listed in Hong Kong also fell, Meituan dropped 11.16% while Kuaishou declined 7.53%. The Hang Seng Tech index fell 4.63% to 5,223.47.

On January 5, China’s top market regulator announced that it fined units of Alibaba, Bilibili, as well as Tencent for improper reporting of deals. On the same day, the country’s cyberspace regulator also announced draft rules affecting mobile apps, including a security review requirement for those with functions that could sway public opinion.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics fell 1.65% while Kakao dropped 5.38%. In Australia, shares of Afterpay declined 4.01%.

Those moves came as investors watched interest rates in the bond market, with U.S. Treasury yields rising at the fastest new year pace in a long time. On January 4, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields jumped to as high as 1.71% on Tuesday, last sitting at 1.6473%

Mainland Chinese stocks on January 5

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.64% to close at 22,907.25. 

Mainland Chinese stocks also declined on January 5. The Shanghai composite dropped 1.02% to end its trading at 3,595.18. The Shenzhen component declined 1.795% to 14,525.76. 

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 1.18% on the day to 2,953.97. 

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.32% to close at 7,565.80.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% to end its trading day at 29,332.16. The Topix index added 0.45% to 2,039.27.