Uncertainty and stock markets

On November 22, stocks in Asia were mixed as uncertainty regarding the U.S-China trade war created additional pressure on the stock markets.

Mainland Chinese stocks declined on Friday. The Shanghai composite declined by 0.63% to about 2,885.29. The Shenzhen Composite fell by 1.454% to around 1,607.51. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen component declined by 1.51% to 9,626.90.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index increased by 0.3% during the final hour of trading.

The major Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 rose by 0.32% and is close to 23,112.88. Another local index, which is Topix, increased by 0.12% and finished the trading day at 1,691.34.

It is important to mention that shares of the world-famous gaming company Nintendo declined by 3.51%. This happened after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from equal-weight to overweight.

South Korea is one of the most developed countries in the region. South Korea’s Kospi index finished the trading day by 0.26% at 2,101.96.

In the Asia Pacific region, the situation was different as Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.55% and by the end of the day, the index stood at 6,709.80.

Westpac Banking Corporation is an Australian Bank, and financial services provider based in Sydney. On November 22, the shares of Westpac decreased by 1.5%. The major reason which affected the shares of the Australian bank is the decision of Goldman Sachs. American investment bank decided to cut its price for the stock by 10%. Moreover, during the last several days, Westpac’s stock started to decline due to problems connected with Australian authorities.

Stock markets and trade confusion

This week stock markets experienced problems as investors tried to digest the information regarding the trade war.

On Thursday, the media reported that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He invited U.S. officials to China. The purpose of this meeting between the delegations is to discuss the details. However, at the moment it is unknown if U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Treasury Secretary would visit China in the upcoming weeks.