· Asian shares stem recent losses, attention on cenbank tapering
Asian shares rallied on Friday after two days of losses, but were still in a nervous mood as global investors grapple with how best to interpret central banks' cautious moves to end stimulus, which also left currency markets quiet.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), gained 0.47% in early trading, but is still down around 0.8% compared to last week's close, in line with the global trend.
· Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surges nearly 2% as Chinese video game stocks bounce back
By Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, shares of Tencent in the city jumped 1.67% while Netease gained 2.32% — a partial recovery after the heavy losses seen Thursday.
Gaming stocks had tumbled on Thursday as the South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese government will suspend approvals for new online games in the country. After the market close, however, the media outlet corrected the report to instead say regulators will slow the approvals process.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of embattled Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group slid 0.85% as concerns remain around the firm’s debt situation.
The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 1.65%, following its more than 2% decline on Thursday. Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.43% while the Shenzhen component gained 0.595%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% while the Topix index advanced 1.01%. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.39% higher.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.39%.
· European markets inch higher as global sentiment rebounds
The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged 0.25% higher in early trade, but is still on track to end the week in the red. Basic resources added 0.8% while telecoms stocks fell 0.4%.
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