Evergrande shares plunge on return to trade

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade, as investors monitored shares of developer China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong.

Evergrande shares dropped 10.85% by the afternoon in Hong Kong, returning to trade on Thursday after a halt that lasted more than two weeks.

The debt-laden firm announced in an exchange filing late Wednesday that a deal to sell a 50.1% stake in its property services business to another developer Hopson had fallen through.

Evergrande, which has already missed multiple coupon payments for its bonds, also warned “there is no guarantee that the Group will be able to meet its financial obligations under the relevant financing documents and other contracts.”

Shares of Evergrande Property Services Group, which also resumed trading on Thursday, plunged 6.45%, while Hopson shares jumped more than 5%. The Hang Seng Properties index climbed 2.06%.

The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slipped 0.35%. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite up 0.46% while the Shenzhen component dipped fractionally.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.05% while the Topix index dipped 0.76%. South Korea’s Kospi edged slightly higher.

Australian stocks were higher as the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.22%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged 0.07%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 152.03 points overnight to 35,609.34 after touching an all-time high earlier in the session. The S&P 500 advanced 0.37% to 4,536.19 while the Nasdaq Composite lagged, slipping fractionally to 15,121.68.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.499 — still off levels above 94 seen earlier this week.

The Japanese yen traded at 114.07 per dollar after strengthening from above 114.4 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7519, holding on to gains after climbing from below $0.744 earlier this week.

Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slipping 0.22% to $85.63 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were fractionally lower at $83.39 per barrel.