Asian Shares Retreat, Wall St Declines As Price Data Disappoints
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan and Australia ended in losses while South Korea advanced. In US, unfavourable jobs and inflation reports diluted hopes that the Fed will keep cutting interest rates
Asian Shares Retreat, Wall St Declines As Price Data Disappoints
Hong Kong: Asian shares fell on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s decline in response to potentially discouraging data on the economy. US futures and oil prices were little changed. Chinese leaders wrapped up a two-day economic policy meeting in Beijing on Thursday. Investors were hoping for major moves to support the economy, but the readouts from the closed-door meetings of top leaders lacked details.
State media reported that leaders agreed to increase government borrowing to finance more spending and to ease credit to encourage more investment and spending. “Chinese authorities have been stuck in a more reactionary policy mode, as the uncertainty of U.S. tariff plans makes it difficult for policymakers to make any commitments just yet,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a commentary.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 1.7 per cent to 20,057.69, and the Hang Seng Properties index lost 3 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.5 per cent to 3,410.99. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.2 per cent in morning trading to 39,360.43. A survey by the Bank of Japan showed that business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers was stronger than expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 per cent to 8,292.40. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6 per cent to 2,497.61.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent to 6,051.25, marking its fourth loss in the last six days. The index had been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium.
