Chinese stocks broke a five-day winning streak on Tuesday, as Hong Kong and Shanghai markets both pulled back amid concerns fueled by a drop in the profit growth at major Chinese industrial companies and a previous sharp fall for China’s yuan.
At the same time, Japanese stocks advanced to one-month high, after Greek election results impacted global markets by less than expected Monday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.41% retreated 0.4% to 24,897.28, after touching a four-month high in the previous close.
Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.89% fell 0.9% to 3,352.96, also pulling back from its best closing level in more than five years.
The declines came after official data showing that profit at major Chinese industrial companies grew 3.3% year-on-year in 2014, down sharply from a 12.2% increase in 2013.
A significant drop in China’s yuan in the previous day also dented investor sentiment.
However, other Asian markets were stronger. Japan’s Nikkei Average NIK, +1.72% added 1.7% to 17,768.30, its best settlement since a month ago. The broader Topix I0000, +0.00% also moved up 1.7%.
The yen USDJPY, -0.24% headed higher against the greenback to ¥118.14, compared with ¥118.48 late Monday in New York.
Elsewhere, Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.83% closed up 0.8%, and Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index SEU, +0.86% tacked on 0.9%.
Source: MarketWatch
