Why it matters
- Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday, Oct. 23, as state-backed ETF buying supported mainland benchmarks and bargain hunters returned after Thursday's sell-off, Trading Economics said. The Shenzhen Component rose 2.79% and the Hang Seng 0.69%, Yahoo Finance data showed.
- Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.34% to 62,693.16 as selling in AI and tech stocks eased, ending the week down 4.03%, while South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.30% as investors bought beaten-down chipmakers.
- India's Sensex fell 0.17% for a fourth straight loss on oil-price worries, and Australia's ASX 200 closed nearly flat, Trading Economics said.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday, Oct. 23, because increased state-backed buying of exchange-traded funds supported mainland benchmarks and bargain hunters returned after Thursday's 3% sell-off in Hong Kong, Trading Economics said. China's Shenzhen Component jumped 2.79% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.69%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.34% to 62,693.16, according to Yahoo Finance data.
| Market | Friday close | Change vs. Thursday | Change on the week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 62,693.16 | −0.34% | −4.03% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 5,550.30 | +0.30% | −2.08% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 23,093.37 | +0.69% | −4.52% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,690.48 | +0.89% | −0.69% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,673.83 | +2.79% | −1.09% |
| CSI 300 (China) | 4,105.33 | +1.71%* | n/a* |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,795.20** | +0.02% | −0.13% |
| Sensex (India) | 73,123.83 | −0.17% | −2.15% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,600.00 | −0.39% | −2.36% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,041.43*** | n/a | −2.27%*** |
Source: Yahoo Finance one-month daily chart data; daily changes are from Thursday, Oct. 22, closes and weekly changes from Friday, Oct. 16, closes. \Yahoo's daily data showed only Friday's CSI 300 level and no earlier bars; the daily change is as reported by Trading Economics, and no weekly change was available. \\Yahoo's Friday daily bar showed no ASX 200 close; the level is its last price after the close, which matches the 8,795 close Trading Economics reported. \\\Neither Yahoo nor the Taiwan Stock Exchange's daily statistics showed a Friday Taiex close at publication, although the exchange's 2026 holiday schedule does not list Oct. 23 as a holiday; the level is Thursday's close, and the weekly change runs Oct. 16 to Oct. 22.
Why did Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rise today?
Turnover in nine ETFs favored by China's "national team" of state-backed investors reached 60 billion yuan, led by inflows into the E Fund ChiNext ETF, Trading Economics said. AI-related shares recovered as selling eased, with Cambricon Technologies up 5.46% and SMIC 4.01%. Despite Friday's gain, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.69% for the week, Yahoo Finance data showed.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng recovered from an intraday drop of about 0.5% and tracked mainland gains, Trading Economics said. Xiaomi rose 4.2% and Tencent 1.1%, and a reported $15 billion DeepSeek fundraising lifted sentiment toward China's AI sector. Concerns about the scale and financing of AI investment still weighed on tech, and Brent crude hit a five-month high, it said. The index lost 4.52% on the week. Thursday's slide is in our Asia Thursday recap.
Why did the Nikkei fall this week?
The Nikkei fell as much as 2.3% before recovering, as selling in technology and AI stocks began to ease, Trading Economics said. It posted a second straight weekly loss as investors moved from high-flying tech and AI shares toward safer assets, including government bonds. Reports that the U.S. and Israel had prepared plans for possible renewed strikes against Iran also weighed. Disco fell 3.8% and Hitachi 4.4%. Japan's inflation rose above the Bank of Japan's 2% target in September, reinforcing expectations of another rate hike this year, it said. The yen was at about 156.44 per dollar around 13:00 GMT, Yahoo Finance data showed.
How did South Korea, India and Australia trade?
The Kospi edged higher as investors bought beaten-down semiconductor stocks, Trading Economics said. SK hynix gained 4.42% and Samsung Electronics 0.47%, while retail investors turned net buyers. Concerns about returns on AI investment limited the rebound.
India's Sensex fell for a fourth session on concern that high oil prices will raise the import bill and inflation, Trading Economics said. Foreign investors sold Indian shares on Oct. 22, and Tata Steel led losses with a 3.2% drop.
Australia's ASX 200 was nearly flat as flash data showed factory activity contracting further, Trading Economics said. BHP fell 3.6%, while the four major banks rose 0.9% to 4.4%.
What comes next?
Europe's session is in our Europe Friday recap, U.S. futures and next week's Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan meetings are in our day-ahead guide, and live levels are on the markets page.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- Trading Economics, Japan stock market (Nikkei 225)
- Trading Economics, South Korea stock market (Kospi)
- Trading Economics, Hong Kong stock market (Hang Seng)
- Trading Economics, China stock market (including the CSI 300)
- Trading Economics, Taiwan stock market (Taiex)
- Trading Economics, Australia stock market (ASX 200)
- Trading Economics, India stock market (Sensex)
- Taiwan Stock Exchange, 2026 holiday schedule and daily Taiex history
- Yahoo Finance, one-month chart data for the Nikkei 225, Kospi, Taiex, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Component, CSI 300, S&P/ASX 200, Sensex, Nifty 50 and USD/JPY