The Hong Kong and Tokyo stock markets suffered a setback on Monday, as investors suddenly became risk averse again after the high-stakes U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad, Pakistan concluded without a deal on Sunday, according to a market analyst.
Hong Kong's stock market retreated on Monday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.90 percent to close at 25,660.85 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.61 percent to end at 8,602.06 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index slid 0.79 percent to 4,822.01 points.
Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped the market performances.
"Around the region, markets suffered a setback. The Hang Seng slipped about 0.9 percent as investors who'd really celebrated that ceasefire suddenly became really risk averse again. EV maker BYD was the biggest gainer on the Hang Seng today. It was up 5 percent. Number two there was PetroChina, up 1.6 percent. But on the flip side, we saw the fallout really hitting aviation stocks. Cathay Pacific shares were down. There are reports that it's going to be cutting flights in response to the surges in the price and potential shortages of jet fuel," he said.
"We also had other news that major Chinese tech companies are continuing their bids for secondary listings in Hong Kong. In this case, it's Shenghong Technology, which makes circuit boards, choosing a hell of a time -- I got to say -- to push ahead with its listing, but says it wants to raise 2.2 billion U.S. dollars. And this could prove to be one of the biggest Hong Kong listings this year. Shares will begin trading in Shenghong later this month," said the analyst.
Tokyo stocks also closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, down 421.34 points, or 0.74 percent, from Friday to end at 56,502.77 points.
"Over in Japan, the markets pulled back from a very, very strong gain last week -- the Nikkei's biggest since mid-2024. Again, the peace talks news dented the market mood. But I've seen traders in Tokyo quoted today saying that the risk of mood isn't as extreme as it might have been, because most investors didn't really expect a lot to be agreed on the U.S.-Iran peace front anyway," Pope said.
"The Nikkei was down 0.7 percent today. There's also an interesting example here of just how broad the effects of the war are. Shares in bathroom fittings maker TOTO really went down the drain after newspaper reports that it's suspended orders for some products, because it just can't get petroleum-derived solvents that it needs. And it closed down more than 7 percent," he said.
Hong Kong, Tokyo stocks plunge amid failed U.S.-Iran peace talks
