Bloomberg News
Asian markets jumped to early gains Thursday, but started to slide back as the trading day progressed.
Equities in the region got an initial boost after Wall Street’s recovery in Wednesday trading. Japan’s Nikkei was off its morning high, but still in positive territory by midday in Tokyo.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was treading water after giving up early gains. Tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. was last up 5% after surging 7% in early trading following a positive quarterly earnings report. Tencent on Wednesday reported a 61% increase in year-over-year net profit, thanks largely to strong performances from its mobile gaming and mobile payments businesses.
South Korea’s Kospi retreated from early gains as Samsung Electronics pulled back.
Chinese indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen were modestly lower. Singapore’s Strait Times Index was in the green following three straight days of losses, and Malaysian stocks were down after giving up early advances.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined after a new report showed unemployment rising more than expected in April, although mining giants Rio Tinto Ltd. and BHP Billiton Ltd. each rose more than 1%. New Zealand’s index made up about half of the previous day’s losses, as A2 Milk rebounded somewhat following a 13% plunge Wednesday after it issued a warning about its yearly revenue outlook.