Asian stocks close mixed after Japanese data and ECB interest rate hike

Asian stock markets closed without a single direction on Friday (22), as investors digested data on inflation and manufacturing activity from Japan and a day after the European Central Bank (ECB) surprised with a higher-than-expected rate hike. expected.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.40% in Tokyo today to 27,914.66 points, while the Hang Seng rose 0.17% in Hong Kong to 20,609.14 points, and the Taiex gained marginally in Taiwan, up 0. .08%, at 14,949.36 points.

In mainland China, markets saw modest losses: the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.06% to 3,269.97 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite dropped 0.38% to 2,185.41 points.

The day was also negative in Seoul, with South Korean Kospi down 0.66% to 2,393.14 points.

Japan’s annual core consumer inflation rate stood at 2.2% in June, remaining above the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) target of 2% for the third straight month.

On Thursday, the Japanese central bank once again left its ultra-accommodative monetary policy unchanged despite rising prices.

Japan’s manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.5 in July, with a reading below 50 showing that the country’s manufacturing has contracted again.

Asia’s mixed behavior also comes after the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday raised its key interest rates by 50 basis points, the first increase since 2011, in a bid to fight record inflation in the euro zone.

Analysts had forecast a more moderate increase of 25 basis points, although they did not rule out a half-percentage-point adjustment.

In Oceania, the Australian stock market was practically stable today. The S&P/ASX 200 was slightly down 0.04% in Sydney at 6791.50 points.