Asian markets mixed as rate hopes offset by China gaming move

HONG KONG - Asian markets were mixed as the euphoria over an expected flurry of US interest rate cuts next year was offset by a tech-led plunge in Hong Kong after China unveiled fresh plans to restrict online gaming.

Equities have been on an upward trajectory in recent weeks as a string of figures show inflation coming down and the jobs market softening, while the economy is easing but appears safe from recession.

The surge suffered a blip in the middle of the week as traders took a breather, with analysts saying the advance may have gone a little too fast, but they were back on their horse Friday following a strong run-up on Wall Street.

All three main indexes on Wall Street rose Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 piling on more than one percent, and analysts said the fact that trades are still snapping up stocks when they were overbought was a good sign for the market outlook.

Asia built on the US lead in the morning but the news out of Beijing took the wind out of the sails.

Tokyo, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta all rose.

But Hong Kong reversed an early rally and sank more than one percent after China unveiled proposals that would put limits on recharging in-game wallets and abolish features meant to increase gameplay.

The news sent tech giant Tencent plunging more than 15 percent in Hong Kong at one point -- wiping more than $50 billion off its valuation, Bloomberg reported -- while rival Netease was briefly down more than 30 percent.

XD Inc sank around 20 percent, while there were also losses for Alibaba and Meituan.

Shanghai also fell, while Sydney, Seoul and Bangkok were marginally lower.

"This will deal a blow to the overwhelming majority of games in China, except those that sell copies," Zeng Xiaofeng, a vice president at Niko Partners, said. 

"Companies will need to overhaul their monetisation models, including how they charge money from different tiers of players." 

London, Paris, and Frankfurt all fell at the open.