Asia Market Wrap 23 October: Shenzhen Rebounds 2.79 Percent and Taipei Does Not Trade
Shenzhen’s component index rose 2.79 percent on Friday to snap three straight declines, leading a China rebound a day after all ten of the indices we track closed lower. Shanghai added 0.89 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.69 percent, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped a second day after September inflation firmed. Taipei’s market did not trade: the Taiwan Stock Exchange had announced a one-day closure for Friday as Typhoon Champi neared the island. Brent crude traded 0.47 percent higher at 113.70 dollars a barrel at 09:06 GMT.
China Leads the Rebound and Taipei Does Not Trade
The Shenzhen Component closed at 11,673.83 and the Shanghai Composite at 3,690.48, up 0.89 percent after two declines, while the Hang Seng added 0.69 percent to 23,093.37, ending a three-session slide. The rebound did not clear the week: the CSI 300, which tracks the largest Shanghai and Shenzhen listings, rose 1.71 percent on the day yet closed lower for an eleventh straight week, on LSEG data carried by CNBC. Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at KraneShares, said in remarks carried by CNBC that China’s underperformance gives investors an opportunity because the bad news is largely known and already reflected in prices. Taipei’s market did not trade: the Taiwan Stock Exchange said on Thursday that its market would be closed on Friday 23 October, as Typhoon Champi bore down on the island. The storm had left one person dead and 94 injured by early Friday, per Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center figures carried by CNA, and the exchange’s own calendar keeps Monday closed as the adjusted holiday for Taiwan Restoration Day, so the Taiex stands at Thursday’s 46,041.43 until Tuesday.
Tokyo Slips on Firmer Prices as a Chip Reversal Lifts Seoul
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.34 percent to 62,693.16 and the broader Topix 0.79 percent to 3,965.81, a second straight decline for both, after September consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from August’s 1.7 percent, with the measure that also excludes energy at 2.4 percent and rice prices in the index down 20.6 percent on the year, per the figures carried in CNBC’s report. Seoul’s Kospi added 0.30 percent to 5,550.30, rebounding after one decline from an open 2.36 percent lower as individual investors turned net buyers, on Yonhap’s close report; the tech-heavy Kosdaq fell 1.62 percent to 751.69 on CNBC’s close report. SK hynix closed 4.42 percent higher at 1.28 million won after opening lower, once the company said its Solidigm unit would halt the review of a potential United States listing; South Korea’s financial regulator had said this week that such a listing could breach rules restricting dual listings, per a Reuters report carried by CNBC. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.02 percent higher at 8,795.20 and Singapore’s Straits Times added 0.13 percent at 5,422.16, each rebounding after one decline; Singapore Exchange chief executive Loh Boon Chye told the bourse’s annual meeting he had asked its chairman to begin planning an eventual transition from the role he took in 2015, with no date set.
Top gainers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,673.83 | +2.79% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,690.48 | +0.89% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 23,093.37 | +0.69% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 5,550.30 | +0.30% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,422.16 | +0.13% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,795.20 | +0.02% |
Six of the eight indices carried in this edition closed higher. Closes of Friday 23 October from the exchanges, index administrators and CNBC’s feed, ranked by change against Thursday’s closes as published. Run lengths are counted against our published closes.
Top losers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Topix (Japan) | 3,965.81 | -0.79% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 62,693.16 | -0.34% |
Same session and basis, ranked from the deepest; Tokyo’s two benchmarks were the only decliners among the eight carried. Taipei did not trade, by the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s announced one-day typhoon closure, and the Taiex’s last close remains Thursday’s 46,041.43. The Nifty 50 row is not carried in this edition and returns in the next.
Commodities and currencies
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 4,037.20 | -0.57% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 53.98 | -1.88% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 113.70 | +0.47% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 100.28 | +0.81% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 101.80 | +0.19% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1192 | -0.20% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3373 | -0.19% |
| Dollar/Yen | 156.78 | +0.01% |
Intraday quotes at 09:06 GMT, in fixed order; snapshots, not settlements, with changes measured on the unrounded values. The commodity rows are measured against Thursday’s settlements, the currency and dollar-index rows against the feed’s previous reference levels.
Why it matters: The rebound is Chinese, not regional: the day’s gains concentrate in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, two of Thursday’s three deepest falls, while Seoul recovered only 0.30 percent of its 3.52 percent drop and Tokyo fell again. The CSI 300’s eleventh straight weekly decline says one green session has not turned the trend. Thursday’s commodity split carried into Asian hours, with Brent above 113 dollars while gold slipped further, so Thursday’s supply-risk premium has not faded. And Japan’s core inflation back above the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target keeps the bank’s rate question open, a second weight under the Nikkei beside the chip trade.
Outlook: Taipei’s market is closed again on Monday, the exchange’s adjusted holiday for Taiwan Restoration Day, so the Taiex next trades on Tuesday, and the Nifty 50 row returns in the next edition. Europe opened lower, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.19 percent shortly after 8:10 am in London per CNBC’s report; our Europe wrap follows today, the commodities wrap comes after the New York close with the session’s settlements, and the US wrap closes the day. The Middle East wrap returns Sunday.
How these wraps are prepared: Methodology.
Sources: Taiwan Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, Yonhap, CNA, CNBC, The Edge.
