Asian Pacific Stocks Decline, China internet shares fall Amidst Regulatory Fears

Shares in Asia-Pacific declined on Tuesday, with Chinese internet stocks in Hong Kong falling again as regulatory fears resurfaced.

By the Tuesday market close in Hong Kong, shares of Tencent dropped 4.14% while Alibaba plunged 4.77% and JD.com slipped 5.16%. The Hang Seng Tech index slipped 3.13% to 6,218.89.

Those losses came after China’s market regulator issued draft rules on Tuesday aimed at stopping unfair competition on the internet.

Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng index fell 1.66% to 25,745.87.

Mainland Chinese stocks led losses regionally by their Tuesday close, with the Shanghai composite slipping 2% to 3,446.98 while the Shenzhen component dropped 2.335% to 14,350.65.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.36% lower at 27,424.47 while the Topix index declined 0.49% to finish the trading day at 1,915.63. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.89% to close at 3,143.09.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia slipped 0.94%, closing at 7,511.

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The New Zealand dollar fell more than 1% to $0.6929 after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will be moving into a nationwide lockdown following the discovery of one Covid case in Auckland.

That development came a day ahead of expectations that the New Zealand central bank could become the first advanced economy in Asia-Pacific to raise interest rates on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.689 — still struggling to recover from a recent drop from above 92.8.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.34 per dollar, stronger than levels above 109.5 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7295, following yesterday’s drop from above $0.735.

Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures declining 0.59% to $69.10 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.61% to $66.88 per barrel.