Hong Kong stocks dropped on Thursday, with shares in the rest of Asia-Pacific also largely declining.
Shares of Tencent and Netease in Hong Kong dropped 8.48% and 11.03% respectively on Thursday after regulatory pressures surfaced again. While the broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 2.3% on the day to 25,716.
Chinese state media reported that the two were among video game firms summoned to a meeting with regulators. Issues discussed during the meeting included reminding them of restrictions on game time for children.
Sentiment on the sector took a further hit following a South China Morning Post report on Thursday afternoon that the Chinese government has temporarily suspended approval for all new online games in the country.
Private education stocks also took a beating after China’s Wednesday ban on private tutors giving classes online or in unregistered venues. New Oriental Education & Technology’s stock plunged 5.45%, while smaller rival Koolearn Technology fell 4.66%.
Meanwhile, shares of China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong pared earlier losses to drop 4.31% as uncertainty continues to surround the embattled property developer’s debt situation.
Mainland Chinese stocks close higher: the Shanghai composite advanced 0.49% to 3,693.13 while the Shenzhen component rose fractionally to 14,698.53.
China’s consumer price index rose 0.8% year-on-year in August, compared to expectations for a 1% increase in a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, the producer price index jumped 9.5% from a year ago, as compared to forecasts of a 9% rise in a Reuters poll.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan closed 0.57% lower at 30,008.19 while the Topix index fell 0.71% to 2,064.93. South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.53% to end the trading day at 3,114.70.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.9% to close at 7,369.50. While the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.26%.
Asian Markets Currencies and Oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.684 following its climb earlier in the week from below 92.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 110 per dollar, stronger than levels around 110.4 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7368, lower than levels above $0.74 seen earlier this week.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.15% to $72.71 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained about 0.1% to $69.34 per barrel.
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