South Korea’s markets were mixed. The large-cap Kospi advanced 1.43% to 4,056.41, lifted by semiconductor manufacturers and battery suppliers, while the technology-heavy Kosdaq slipped 0.55% to 911.07 amid profit-taking in biopharmaceutical names.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.16% to 8,585.20 as losses in energy producers and miners outweighed modest gains in consumer staples. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index improved 0.97%, helped by property developers and internet platforms. On the mainland, the CSI 300, which tracks the largest stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, climbed 1.83% to 4,579.88.
Individual listings drew significant attention during the session. Shares of financial group SBI Shinsei Bank jumped more than 12% after the company raised ¥322 billion (about US$2.1 billion) in an initial public offering priced at ¥1,450 per share. The deal is one of the largest financial sector IPOs in Japan this year.
In Shanghai, semiconductor designer MetaX Integrated Circuits surged over 700% on its first day of trading. The company, which develops graphics processing units tailored for artificial-intelligence workloads, collected nearly US$600 million through its offering. The performance echoed the strong debut of Moore Threads earlier in the month and underscored investor appetite for firms positioned in the expanding AI hardware market.
Hong Kong welcomed another digital-asset listing as cryptocurrency exchange HashKey opened roughly 3% higher compared with its IPO price after securing about US$207 million from investors. The exchange is one of the few platforms licensed in the city under new virtual-asset regulations.
Energy markets also influenced sentiment. West Texas Intermediate crude added more than 1% to trade at US$55.96 per barrel after former U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on the social platform Truth Social that he would order a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. The statement arrived a day after U.S. benchmark crude fell nearly 3% to its lowest settlement since early 2021, pressured by expectations of excess supply and the prospect of a peace agreement in Ukraine. The Energy Information Administration has recently highlighted the possibility of a near-term surplus in global output in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Overnight in the United States, the S&P 500 slipped 0.24% to 6,800.26, marking a third consecutive decline as traders digested the postponed release of November’s employment report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.62%, or 302.30 points, to 48,114.26, weighed down by industrial and healthcare constituents. By contrast, the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.23% higher to 23,111.46, supported by large technology firms.
Market participants in Asia cited the mixed U.S. session, fluctuations in oil prices and the approaching year-end as reasons for cautious positioning, even as Japan’s robust export print provided a near-term boost to sentiment. Attention later in the week is expected to center on additional economic releases from China and policy signals from major central banks.
Crédito da imagem: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
