By Laura He, MarketWatch
Japanese and Australian stocks retreat
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks
extended recent gains Tuesday, the last full trading day before the
Lunar New Year holiday, as they shrugged off downbeat Chinese
home-price data.
The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%, after rising for the previous
three sessions, while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8% to
notch a seven-session winning streak.
Official data showed Tuesday that 69 of the top 70 Chinese
cities recorded falls in the price of new homes over January. On
average, those prices were down 5.1% year-on-year, accelerating
from a 4.3% drop in December.
Most Chinese property stocks declined in Hong Kong. Poly
Property Group Co. tumbled 3%, Hang Seng constituent China
Resources Land Ltd. lost 1.2%, and Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd.
pulled back 0.3%.
But major mainland Chinese banks posted gains that supported the
market, with China Citic Bank Corp. up 2.3%, China Minsheng Banking
Corp. climbing 2.1%, Bank of Communications Co. higher by 0.9%, and
Bank of China Ltd. tacking on 0.2%.
Among the heaviest-weighted Hang Seng components, HSBC Holdings
PLC and China Mobile Ltd. both added 0.5%, and Tencent Holdings
Ltd. rose 0.2%. Hong Kong telecom operator Hutchison
Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. rose 2.6%, as the market
accepted the company's 9% year-on-year profit drop for last year.
Its corporate parent Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. traded 0.5% higher.
Hong Kong markets were due to open for a half day on Wednesday,
while those in Shanghai were due to close for the rest of the
week.
Elsewhere, other major Asian markets mostly declined, after a
breakdown in Greek debt talks dented investor sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei Average inched down 0.1%, retreating from a
nearly eight-year high from the previous session, while the Topix
nosed 0.2% higher. The yen (USDJPY) rose slightly against the
greenback to Yen118.53, from Yen118.59 at the Tokyo stock exchange
close on Monday.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also dropped 0.5%, while South
Korea's Kospi Composite Index drifted higher by 0.2%.
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