On the final trading day of 2023, Asia-Pacific markets experienced a varied performance, with China standing out as the exception, driven by the continued rise of the country’s tech companies.
Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi unveiled ambitious plans to enter the saturated electric-vehicle market in China, causing its Hong Kong shares to decline by more than 4% in afternoon trading. Xiaomi aims to compete with industry giants Tesla and Porsche, revealing a car model developed at a cost exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).
In the market breakdown, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index witnessed a marginal dip of 0.20%, while China’s CSI 300 index closed 0.49% higher at 3,431.11. Despite both indexes rallying more than 2% in the previous session, they remain the most significant percentage losers for the year among major Asia-Pacific markets.
For 2023, China’s CSI 300 index is down by 11.8%, and the Hang Seng has experienced a notable decline of 14%.
In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 concluded the year with gains of over 28%, solidifying its position as Asia’s top-performing market. The index ended the day down by 0.22% at 33,464.17. The broader Topix closed 0.19% higher at 2,366.39, registering an impressive surge of over 25% throughout the year.
South Korean markets remained closed on Friday, with the Kospi showcasing a robust performance, up 18.7% for the year, while the Kosdaq recorded gains of 27.5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.31% lower at 7,590.80, cooling off after two consecutive sessions of gains but still reflecting a yearly increase of 7.84%.
In the global context, the S&P 500 finished marginally higher on Thursday, edging closer to a new all-time high in the penultimate trading day of a robust year for stocks. The index added 0.04% to close at 4,783.35, nearing its highest closing level of 4,796.56 set in January 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14%, achieving a fresh record closing high, while the Nasdaq Composite inched down by 0.03%.
