Asia-Pacific shares mostly down

Shares of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plunged in Friday trade after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration placed the firm on a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies.

By Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, shares of Xiaomi listed in the city plunged 10.87%. The broader Hang Seng Tech index also fell 1.64%, while the benchmark Hang Seng index was flat.

Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC, dipped 0.37% — after the U.S. Commerce Department announcing Thursday it had added the firm to its entity list, which essentially restricts firms from receiving specific goods made in the U.S.

Elsewhere, shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower in Friday trade as investors regionally reacted to the release of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package.

Mainland Chinese stocks were lower by the afternoon: The Shanghai composite dipped 0.53% while the Shenzhen component dropped 1.474%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.69% while the Topix index slipped 0.86%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.67%.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia were higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.18%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares dipped 0.32%.

Debarati Mondal

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