Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares spiked at the open after the Chinese tech giant announced it will split into six business groups.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 2.03% and the Hang Seng Tech index climbed by 2.4%. Shares of Alibaba jumped 13.7%.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.16%, closing at 3,240.05 while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.13% to end at 11,579.91.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.23% to close at 7,050.3, as its February consumer price index rose 6.8%, lower than expected.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.33% to finish at 27,883.78 and the Topix rose 1.46% to end the day at 1,995.48. South Korea’s Kospi closed at 2,442.92, up 0.37% and the Kosdaq rose 1.25% to close at 843.94.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing 0.45%, the S&P 500 falling 0.16%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 37.83 points, or 0.12%.
Bond yields rose, with the rate on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note climbing back above 4%. Rising rates make future profits, like those promised by growth companies, less attractive.
