Asian Markets End Mixed on Monday as Chinese and Hong Kong Stocks Advance

Asian markets closed higher on Monday, March 24, with gains across Chinese A-shares and Hong Kong stocks, while Japan’s benchmarks saw declines.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.15% to 3,370.03 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.07% to 10,695.49 points. The ChiNext Index inched up 0.01%, closing at 2,152.55 points. Sector-wise, nonferrous metals, fertilizers, and tourism led capital inflows, with nonferrous metals seeing a net inflow of 1.216 billion yuan by the close.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.91%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 1.72%. Among the most actively traded stocks, Tencent rose 0.29%, Alibaba advanced 1.61%, Xiaomi surged 4.2%, Meituan declined 1.13%, and BYD added 3.01%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.18%, while the TOPIX Index lost 0.47%. Sumitomo Realty & Development soared over 10%, SoftBank Group gained 3%, and Fujikura climbed nearly 3%. On the downside, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial all dropped more than 2%.

In other Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.42% to 2,632.07 points. Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI edged down 0.03%, closing at 1,505.06 points. Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.38% to 3,941.25 points. India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.46%, finishing at 78,031.69 points, while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index fell 1.41%, closing at 6,170.24 points as of 16:49 SGT.