Asian markets roiled by recession fears, but Shanghai

and Hongkong recover

Hong Kong (CNN Business) Asian stocks were roiled by recession fears Thursday, though markets
in Hong Kong and Shanghai recovered their losses by the end of the day.

Japan's Nikkei (N225) fell 1.2%,

while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 sank 2.9%. Losses deepened even more after a top Australian
central banker warned that the US-China trade war is damaging global growth and risks a "self-
fulfilling downturn."
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) in Hong Kong and China's Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP)
dropped at market open, but both recovered to end higher: They advanced 0.8% and 0.3%,
respectively.
In Hong Kong, property developers have been hit hard by the city's mass protests. But that was the
sector that gained the most on the city's benchmark index Thursday. New World Development surged
7.8%, while MTR, the city's subway system and a major real estate developer, climbed 4.4%.
"Hong Kong stocks had been oversold and investors are buying the dip," said Ben Kwong, executive
director of KGI Asia. "But that doesn't mean investors' cautious sentiment has turned around. It's just
bargain hunting."
Chinese telecom companies that are listed on the Hang Seng rose, too. One of those, China Unicom,
soared roughly 11% after the company said it's speeding up its 5G plans.

Major Chinese banks that trade in Hong Kong also made gains Thursday after the People's Bank of
China injected about $57 billion into the financial system.
South Korea's market was closed on Thursday for a public holiday.
Thursday's sell-off came after US markets plummeted in the worst day for stocks there of 2019. That
happened because the bond market, for the first time in over a decade, flashed a warning signal that
has an eerily accurate track record for predicting recessions.