Asian Markets Mixed on Tuesday as Aerospace and Semiconductor Stocks Shine in China While Japan Retreats

Asian markets posted mixed performances on Tuesday, March 4, as Chinese A-shares showed sector-driven divergence, Hong Kong’s benchmarks hovered near flat, and Japanese stocks declined sharply. Investors balanced gains in China’s aerospace and semiconductor sectors against profit-taking in Japan, where recent rallies in industrial stocks lost momentum.

China mainland’s stock markets closed mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.22%, closing at 3,324.21 points; the Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.28% to 10,679.44 points; while the ChiNext Index slipped 0.29%, closing at 2,190.08 points. Most sectors advanced, led by strong gains in aerospace and semiconductors.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 0.28%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index was nearly flat. Among actively traded stocks, BYD slumped 6.77%, Alibaba lost 1.99%, Xiaomi edged down 0.79%, Tencent advanced 1.61%, and SMIC rose 0.29%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.20%, closing at 37,331.18 points. Among notable movers, Seven & i Holdings and Fujikura both dropped more than 6%.

In other Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.15%, closing at 2,528.92 points. Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.94%, ending at 1,556.65 points, while Singapore’s STI Index lost 0.37%, closing at 3,894.54 points. In India, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.18%, closing at 72,954.43 points, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index fell 2.16%, closing at 6,378.67 points as of 16:36 SGT.