Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, with shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in the spotlight following reports that Chinese regulators will probe the firm for suspected monopolistic behavior.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 143.56 points, or 0.5%, to 26,668,35.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.57 per U.S. dollar, off levels below 103.2 against the greenback seen last week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 43.46 points, or 0.2%, to 26,386.56. Alibaba shares in Hong Kong fell 8.1% on Thursday.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore closed early for Christmas Eve.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7587, off lows below $0.75 seen earlier in the trading week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 7.1 points, or 0.1%, to 5,000.02
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said through official online channels it has opened an investigation into Alibaba over monopolistic practices. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, and was announced by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Chinese authorities also said Thursday they would meet with Alibaba-affiliate Ant to supervise the financial technology firm on issues such as operating in a market-oriented way.
Those developments came on the heels of an increasing — and largely unexpected — push by Chinese authorities to rein in their biggest tech firms through regulatory action.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index climbed 47.04 points, or 1.7%, to 2,842.04
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index added 57.19 points, or 0.4%, to 14,280.28.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved up 8.64 points, or 0.3%, to 2,842.04.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 17.74 points, or 0.1%, to 13,037.94.
In Australia, the ASX 200 was 21.64 points, or 0.3%, to the good, at 6,664.77.