Asia report: Tencent tumbles on slowest revenue growth ever

Equity markets were mixed at the close in Asia on Thursday, with Chinese technology shares once again in focus after Tencent reported disappointing revenue growth.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.25% at 28,110.39, as the yen weakened 0.4% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 121.63.

Tech investment giant SoftBank Group was up 1.42%, while among the benchmark’s other major components, robotics specialist Fanuc was down 0.36% and Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing slipped 0.91%.

The broader Topix index was ahead 0.14% by the end of trading in Tokyo, closing at 1,981.56.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.63% at 3,250.26, and the smaller, technology-centric Shenzhen Composite lost 0.87% to 2,144.34.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% to 2,729.66, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.94% lower at 21,945.95.

Chinese technology and content behemoth Tencent Holdings slid 5.91% in the special administrative region, after it reported its slowest revenue growth in company history.

At the same time, the company said it was “exploring” putting its WeChat Pay service under a financial holding company, should it be required by regulators in Beijing.

WeChat Pay is a hugely popular service that allows people in China to make payments with their smartphones, and boasts more than 900 million users - more than Alibaba-owned competitor Alipay, which it was specifically set up to compete with.

Other tech plays were also in the red in Hong Kong, with Alibaba down 3.23%, JD.com losing 4.13%, and Meituan sliding 5.89%.

Seoul’s blue-chip technology stocks were on the back foot as well, with Samsung Electronics down 0.99% and SK Hynix losing 2.43%.

“Stocks in Asia followed the slide in global stocks after three days of gains, as oil resumed its rise in markets roiled by inflation fears and the impact of the Ukraine conflict,” said AvaTrade chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.

“The rebound in Treasuries was short-lived. As shares in Japan sank, an MSCI indicator of Asia-Pacific equities dipped for the first time in three days.

“Tencent Holdings announced its worst quarterly growth on record and warned against potential unrestrained expansion at Chinese digital behemoths, sending tech stocks tumbling in Hong Kong.”

Oil prices were mixed as the region went to bed, with Brent crude futures last up 0.19% on ICE at $121.83 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.02% to $114.91 on the NYMEX market.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 eked out gains of 0.12% to 7,387.10, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was off 0.36% at 12,017.61.

The down under dollars were both weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.14% at AUD 1.3353, and the Kiwi retreating 0.34% to NZD 1.4388.