Asia-Pacific Stocks Face Declines

Asia-Pacific stocks experienced a drop in value on Friday, October 20th. Notably, the Japanese market saw a decrease for the second consecutive session, while Hong Kong experienced its third consecutive session of decline.

Hong Kong Market Performance

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) of Hong Kong companies declined by 0.7% to reach 17,172.13. Alongside this, the Nikkei 225 Index (NIK) of Japanese companies dropped by 0.5% to reach 31,259.36.

Other Declining Markets

Other significant declines were observed in China's Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP), which dropped by 0.7% to reach 2,983.06. Similarly, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index (STI) declined by 0.7% to reach 3,077.68. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index dropped by 1.7% to reach 2,375.00, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index of Australian stocks declined by 1.2% to reach 6,900.70.

Market Highlights

Among the Hang Seng Index constituents, gas utilities company ENN Energy Holdings saw the largest drop in Hong Kong with a decrease of 4.8%.

Shenzhou Intl Group, a clothing firm, and Baidu, an internet search engine company, both experienced drops of 3.6% and 3.2% respectively.

Conversely, marine transport company Orient Overseas Intl witnessed the largest increase in Hong Kong as its shares rose by 2.9%. Property managers firm Country Garden Svcs and real estate services/transactions company New World Development also saw gains of 2.5% and 2.1% respectively.

In the Nikkei 225 Index, passive components company Taiyo Yuden experienced the largest drop with shares falling 4.2%. Chemicals firm Mitsubishi Chemical Group and electronic office equipment company Ricoh weakened by 3.8% and 2.9% respectively.

On a positive note, pharmaceuticals company Daiichi Sankyo saw the largest increase in the Nikkei 225 Index, with shares surging by 14.4%. Oil and gas exploration firm Inpex Corp. and tires company Yokohama Rubber also experienced gains of 2.2% and 1.8%.