Asian traders struggle to emulate Wall Street after sell-off

Asian markets struggled on Thursday to recover from the previous day’s sell-off, with Hong Kong dragged down by further losses in casinos as well as tech firms following government crackdowns on the sectors.

A strong performance on Wall Street was not enough to spur buying in the region, where concerns about the spreading Delta variant and its impact on the economic rebound are draining confidence.

Traders are also keeping tabs on developments in China where one of its biggest developers, Evergrande, is drowning in a sea of debt that could see it crash into a bankruptcy observers fear could have a severe impact on the world’s number two economy and beyond.

Hong Kong led losses, extending its streak to a fourth straight day, with Macau casinos back in the spotlight after Wednesday’s crash fuelled by plans unveiled by city authorities to tighten its control of the industry. Trillions of dollars were wiped off the valuations of the six listed firms in reaction to the proposals, which include putting a government representative on their boards.

The announcement fanned concerns that the days of multi-billion-dollar revenues are gone in the city, which before the pandemic raked in...