A tale of three equities markets. Chinese shares had their biggest loss in four months, which drove investors in neighboring Hong Kong to also dump stocks in the city. Japanese investors, meanwhile, pushed the Nikkei to 10 straight days of gains, which might have inspired Universal Studios to consider re-listing in the Japanese market.
Chinese shares plunge, post biggest loss in four months. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.5%, its biggest single-day drop since January 19, after the Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp cut its holdings in the country’s top state-backed lenders for the first time. Hong Kong also dropped 2.2%, its steepest fall since December 9, as investors unloaded shares after the sharp decline in the mainland. MarketWatch/Reuters
Dollar rises to 12-year high vs yen. Fuelled by rising expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates this year amid improving economic data, investors pushed the dollar to its highest level against the yen since December 2002, as it traded as high at 124.30 yen Thursday. The Japanese government is watching the market closely. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
U.S. SEC orders JPMorgan to disclose correspondence with Chinese officials. As part of its probe on JPMorgan’s hiring of the children of top Chinese officials, the bank has been asked to hand over all its correspondence with 35 politburo members, including Wang Qishan, reportedly the second most powerful man in China next to President Xi Jinping. Financial Times (paywall)
Nikkei records first 10-day winning streak since 1988. A weak yen and Wall Street’s upbeat performance Wednesday drove investors to buy shares, resulting in the Nikkei’s 10-day winning streak, a feat not seen in more than 27 years. Nikkei Asian Review
Universal Studios wants to re-enter Japan’s stock market. The operator of Universal Studios Japan — USJ — has applied to be listed again on the Tokyo Stock Exchange amid expectations that its market capitalization will reach hundreds of billions of yen. USJ was delisted from the Japanese bourse in 2009. Nikkei Asian Review
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