Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falls more than 2% as volatile week continues; Biden and Xi set to speak

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade as the Bank of Japan held steady on monetary policy.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.55% in morning trade as shares of Chinese tech titan Tencent slipped more than 4%. The benchmark index has had a volatile week so far, seeing big losses on Monday and Tuesday before a dramatic turnaround over the next two days.

In mainland China, the Shanghai composite dipped 0.22% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.952%.

Japanese stocks were muted as the Nikkei 225 rose fractionally while the Topix index sat below the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.1%.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed 0.34%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 1.08% lower.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, with the two leaders to discuss topics such as Russia’s war against Ukraine and competition between the two countries, according to the White House.

The Bank of Japan on Friday announced its decision to hold steady on monetary policy. In a largely expected decision, the Japanese central bank kept its interest rate targets unchanged.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.33% to $109.13 per barrel. U.S. crude futures jumped 2.56% to $105.62 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.111 — still off levels above 99 seen earlier this week.

The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.737, having risen in recent days from levels below $0.721.