Hong Kong, China markets slide in the wake of Evergrande liquidation order

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Tuesday, with Hong Kong markets leading losses in the region as investors continue to grapple with the fallout from Evergrande’s liquidation order. On Monday, shares of the embattled property developer were halted after plunging more than 20%. A Hong Kong court ruled to liquidate the firm, which was once considered one of China’s largest real estate firms. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 2.4%, led by declines in consumer cyclical and real estate stocks, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 also fell 1.78% at 3,245.04. Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.11% to close at 36,065.86, but the broad based Topix slipped 0.1% to 2,526.93 This comes as Japan’s unemployment rate in December fell to 2.4%, lower than 2.5% in the month before and slightly below expectations. Economists polled by Reuters expected the unemployment rate to stay unchanged at 2.5%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.07% and ended at 2,498.81, reversing earlier gains made, while the small cap Kosdaq inched marginally lower to 818.86. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the day up 0.29% at 7,600.20, for a seventh straight day of gains. Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose Monday and closed at a fresh record high as Wall Street looked toward several mega-cap tech earnings reports and the Federal Reserve’s rate policy decision. The benchmark index climbed 0.76% to 4,927.93, topping its highest ever close of 4,894.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.59%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.12%.