Mainland and Hong Kong stocks opened down in early trading on Thursday after Tehran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, amid no sign of peace talks between Iran and the United States restarting.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened down 64 points, or 0.25 percent, at 26,098 before diving deeper into the red. It was 222 points, or 0.85 percent, down at 25,940 at one point mid-morning.

The same happened with the China Enterprises Index, which edged down two points to 8,799 at the opening, and the tech index, which opened down one point to 4,962.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened up four points, or 0.11 percent, at 4,110.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened nearly 57 points, or 0.38 percent, higher at 15,234 while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was up 0.43 percent at 3,769.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average opened up 172 points, or 0.29 percent, at 59,758. It pushed above the 60,000 mark for the first time in early trades as tech shares attracted buyers before plunging into the red to be 625 points, or 1.05 percent, lower at 58,960 at one point before lunch.

In Seoul, the Kospi opened up almost 71 points, or 1.1 percent, at 6,488 before, like the Nikkei, also hitting a new high of 6,535. The index was 57 points, or 0.89 percent, up at 6,475 at one point before midday. (Agencies & Xinhua)


Edited by Aaron Tam