Major stock indexes in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed but broadly flat as investors weighed weaker-than-expected economic data from China.
In particular, mainland Chinese markets are moving in a different direction, with the Shanghai Composite down slightly by 0.1% to 3,272 points and the Shenzhen Component up by 0.4% to 12,462 points.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 0.4% to 20,093 points, while in South Korea, the Kospi rose slightly by 0.15% to 2,527 points.
The day’s performance is in Japan where the Nikkei 225 is up 1.1% at 28,871 points, while the broader Topix is ​​up +0.6% at 1,984 points, following the country’s reported GDP growth.
Finally, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.6% to 7,064 points.
In the news of the day, China’s economy showed unexpected slowing trends in July, with industrial activity and retail trade under pressure due to a zero-Covid policy and the property market crisis.
In particular, industrial production in the world’s second-largest economy rose 3.8% in July from a year earlier, slowing from the 3.9% growth recorded in June, while moving well below the 4.6% increase % expected by analysts in a Reuters survey.
Meanwhile, retail sales, which had risen 3.1% in June, rose last month by 2.7% year-on-year, well short of forecasts for 5% growth.
Against this backdrop, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) unexpectedly cut the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate to some financial institutions by 10 basis points (bps) to 2.75% from 2.85%.
It is noted that in a Reuters survey of 32 analysts last week, all respondents expected the interest rate to remain unchanged.
In Japan, by contrast, the economy grew for the third consecutive quarter, thanks mainly to household consumption.
Specifically, GDP in the world’s third-largest economy expanded by 2.2% year-on-year in the second quarter, up from 0.1% in the January-March period, although slower than markets had expected in 2 .5%.
The growth is mainly attributed to an increase in private consumption (+1.1%), which accounts for more than half of Japan’s GDP, according to official data. However, it was smaller than expected (1.3%).
Source: Capital
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