Asian Stock Markets Jittery as China Evergrande Woes Sap Confidence

Asian Stock Markets Jittery as China Evergrande Woes Sap Confidence
A pedestrian looks at an electronic quotation board displaying companies' stock prices at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan on Sept. 24, 2021. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)
Reuters
9/24/2021
Updated:
9/24/2021

Asian shares were on edge on Friday (Sept. 24) hurt by persistent uncertainty around the fate of debt-ridden China Evergrande, even as more risk appetite drove gains for Wall Street and U.S. benchmark Treasury yields.

Hong Kong markets opened slightly down with its benchmark Hang Seng Index starting Friday’s trade at 24,487.24 dipping 0.1 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index started roughly flat on Friday, falling by 4.35 points to 3637.87 points. Investors continue to worry about the fate of property developer China Evergrande, as its shares fell 5.2 percent on Friday after bouncing 17.6 percent a day earlier.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.93 percent, however, catching up on global gains after a public holiday.

South Korean shares rose at opening, with the Korea Composite Stock Price Index opening up 0.37 percent to 3,139.07 points as of 0034 GMT. Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.