"Asian Stocks" Asia-Pacific stock markets generally soft, Star stocks hit new highs, Taiwan stocks hover near historical highs
The Asia-Pacific stock markets are generally weak, with Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand experiencing slight declines on the last trading day of the year. The Singapore stock market reached a new high, while the Taiwan stock market saw a slight drop but remained close to historical highs.
The People's Bank of China conducted a net injection of 253.2 billion yuan through a seven-day reverse repurchase operation. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,961 points, down 4 points or 0.1%; the Shenzhen Component Index reported 13,568 points, up 30 points or 0.2%. On the Hong Kong stock index futures settlement day, the Hang Seng Index rose 116 points or 0.45% to 25,751 points, with a turnover of 96.5 billion yuan. The Taiwan Weighted Index fell 62 points or 0.2% to 28,748 points. Taiwan Semiconductor and Hon Hai fell 0.3% and 1.1%, while MediaTek rose 0.4%.
The Nikkei 225 Index in Japan fell 67 points or 0.1% to 50,459 points. SoftBank and Kioxia fell 1.4% and 1.6%, while Tokyo Electron rose 0.4% and Fast Retailing rose 0.6%. The South Korean Kospi Index fell 2 points to 4,217 points. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 1.2% and 2%, while LG Energy Solution fell 3.2% and Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.1%. The Indian Nifty 50 Index rose 9 points to 25,951 points, with automotive stocks Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors rising 1.5% and 1.3%.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Australia fell 8 points or 0.1% to 8,717 points. Gold mining stock Newmont fell 4%. The NZX 50 Index in New Zealand rose 22 points or 0.2% to 13,548 points. The Singapore Straits Times Index rose 26 points or 0.6% to 4,659 points, reaching a new high of 4,665 points during the session. DBS Bank and OCBC Bank rose 0.8% and 0.9%, while Keppel Corporation rose 1.4%.
The Malaysian and Indonesian stock markets fell 0.3% and 0.4%, while the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh stock markets in Vietnam each fell 0.3%. The Thai stock market rose 0.4%. The Philippine stock market is closed for the holiday
