The Asian markets concluded Thursday’s trade mostly in red, with Japanese stocks losing, as brokerages fell with shipping companies and the yen advanced. Japan’s Cabinet Office is due to release its monthly economic update today. It will raise its outlook on the world’s third-biggest economy for the first time in six months. China’s stocks fell the most in a week amid concerns new share sales will divert funds from existing equities and auto demand may slump after the government stated that it would stop providing cars to junior officials. China faces what would be the second default in the nation’s onshore bond market after a builder stated that it may fail to make a payment next week, the latest sign of stress in the world’s biggest corporate debt load. Companies in China are facing tougher operating conditions as growth looks set to cool to 7.4% this year, the slowest in more than two decades. Hong Kong Unemployment Rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.2%, from 3.1% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2055.59 | -11.69 | -0.57 |
Hang Seng | 23520.87 | -2.41 | -0.01 |
Jakarta Composite | 5071.20 | -42.73 | -0.84 |
KLSE Composite | 1883.14 | -3.57 | -0.19 |
Nikkei 225 | 15370.26 | -9.04 | -0.06 |
Straits Times | 3306.89 | 2.46 | 0.07 |
KOSPI Composite | 2020.90 | 7.42 | 0.37 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9408.24 | -76.49 | -0.81 |