Asian Markets Fall; Tencent Edges Up on Earnings

Investing.com - Asian markets fell in morning trade on Friday, with Chinese stocks down more than 1%. Tencent outperformed today following the release of its four-quarter earnings.

The Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component slumped 1.1% and 1.4% respectively by 11:07 PM ET (03:07 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%.

Shares of gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) rose 0.6% to HK$362.40 after the company said revenues from mobile games rose 12% in the fourth quarter. That was “better-than-feared,” said Karen Chan, an analyst at Jefferies, in a CNN report.

Since December, Chinese regulators resumed its gaming approval process. So far, eight games made by Tencent have been given the greenlight this year to launch.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.4% after returning from a holiday. Data showed on Friday that the country’s core consumer prices rose 0.7% in February from a year earlier.

South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.1%. Hyundai Motor (KS:005380) fell 2% after its investors rejected Elliott Management's demands for a massive special dividend.

Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 was up 0.4%.

In the U.K., the European Union agreed to postpone the Brexit date to May 22 if Prime Minister Theresa May is able to convince the British parliament to accept her withdrawal deal.

May told reporters on Thursday that she believes the U.K. would eventually leave the EU.

“Yes, we will be leaving the European Union, and I absolutely fervently believe that it is the duty of Parliament to deliver on that result of the referendum,” she said. “I also believe that it is better for the U.K. if we can do that with a negotiated deal, do that in a smooth and orderly manner. That’s what tonight’s decision from the Council enables us to do.”

“There was a clear result that we should leave the European Union,” May added. “We said, ‘Here’s the vote, what is your decision? And we will deliver on it.’ And I believe it is our duty as a government, as a Parliament to deliver on that vote.”

On the Sino-U.S. trade front, high-level officials including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are due to meet in Beijing for a fresh round of talks next week.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that U.S. officials are not targeting a “swift trade deal.” Instead, the goal is to reach an agreement during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago sometime before the end of April, according to the people.

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