Hong Kong stocks rise nearly 3%, leading gains in Asia-Pacific; yen strengthens

CNBC – UPDATED THU, DEC 22 2022 – 2:38AM EST

Asia-Pacific shares traded higher on the optimism on Wall Street as stocks saw a boost from upbeat earnings and a strong consumer confidence reading.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.7%, with property and technology stocks leading gains. In mainland China, Shanghai Composite shed 0.46% and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.33%.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.53% to 7,152.5 as Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, and the two agreed to “restart dialogue” on trade and economic issues.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.46% to 26,507.87, while the Topix gained 0.78% 1,908.17. The Japanese yen strengthened further to stand at 131.94 against the U.S. dollar.

The Kospi in South Korea gained 1.19% 2,356.73 as the nation’s annualized producer price index for November reached its lowest reading in 19 months.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/22/asia-markets-japanese-yen.html