HashKey opened with a brief 3% rise but ended the session down 2.1%

HashKey stepped into the Hong Kong stock exchange with a quick 3% lift, but the excitement faded fast as the stock slid 2.1% by press time.

The exchange raised $206 million in the IPO after pricing shares at HK$6.68, close to the top of the HK$5.95–HK$6.95 range.It also pulled in about HK$1.6 billion, a big number in a market where crypto assets have been struggling.

Mainland China’s full crypto ban has not stopped Hong Kong from leaning into digital assets, but investors clearly wanted more from this debut.

The list of early backers was heavy. It included Fidelity, UBS, CDH Investments, and Cithara Fund, while JPMorgan and Guotai Haitong handled bookrunner roles.

HashKey CFO Eric Zhu said, “Our mission is to make digital assets massively accessible, and what we are doing is to create a compliant platform to connect our users with the digital assets industry.” Eric also said:-

“We are confident that the [crypto] penetration rate in Hong Kong, in the Asian market, is going to catch up with what happens in the U.S.”

That confidence did not show up in the stock chart.

Asia-Pacific markets react to new data

Across the region, markets moved in different directions as investors looked at fresh trade data out of Japan.Japan’s exports for November rose 6.1% year over year, beating the 4.8% forecast from economists.

It also came in above the 3.6% recorded the month before. The Nikkei 225 stayed flat, while the Topix slipped 0.25%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.72%, and the Kosdaq added 0.19%.

Japan also saw a major banking move, with SBI Shinsei Bank jumping more than 12% after a 322 billion yen IPO priced at 1,450 yen per share.

Export data showed a 23.6% rise in goods shipped to Western Europe and an 8.8% rise in exports to the U.S., marking the first U.S. export increase since March. Auto exports fell 4.1% by value, yet shipments to the U.S. grew 1.5% year over year.

Revised GDP numbers showed Japan shrinking 0.6% in Q3 and 2.3% on an annualized basis.Shipments to mainland China dropped 2.4%, while exports to Hong Kong jumped 11.4% compared to last year.

“Foodstuff” exports to China fell 5.9%, adding to a tense month between both countries after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attempt to take Taiwan by force could push Japan’s military to step in.

Beijing reacted by limiting seafood imports.

Imports into Japan rose 1.3%, missing the 2.5% forecast. Even with the trade friction, business sentiment looked better, with the Bank of Japan’s latest Tankan survey showing stronger views among firms, especially small manufacturers.

Regional indexes move as oil jumps on Trump order

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.25%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 0.18% to 25,280.13.The CSI 300 on the mainland dipped slightly.South Korea’s Kospi closed at 4,028.17, up 0.73%.

The Nikkei 225 finished at 49,553.71, rising 0.35%. India’s Nifty 50 sat at 25,860.10 with no change. Shanghai’s market added 0.16% to 3,831.061.

Oil prices moved again after U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he would order a “TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS” entering and leaving Venezuela.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 1% to $55.96. This came after U.S. crude fell nearly 3% the day before, hitting its lowest level since early 2021 due to concerns about oversupply and possible progress toward a peace deal in Ukraine.

Get $50 free to trade crypto when you sign up to Bybit now