Asian markets ended mostly in red on Friday, with Indonesian stocks closing in red, dragging the benchmark index by the most in almost four months, after the nation’s parliament passed a law scrapping direct local elections. The rupiah weakened and bonds fell. The Asian Development Bank stated that steady consumption and rising external demand will support economic growth in China this year, especially if the government continues its accommodating macro-economic policy package. According to the Asian Development Outlook 2014, its growth forecast for China’s gross domestic product was flat at 7.5% this year and 7.4% next year.
Japan’s National Core CPI fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.1%, from 3.3% in the preceding month while Tokyo’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food costs, fell to at an annualized rate of 2.6%, from 2.7% in the preceding month. Singaporean Industrial Production rose to an annual rate of 4.2%, from 3.0% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 3.3%. South Korean Consumer Confidence remained unchanged at 107 compared to the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2347.72 | 2.62 | 0.11 |
Hang Seng | 23678.41 | -89.72 | -0.38 |
Jakarta Composite | 5132.56 | -68.82 | -1.32 |
KLSE Composite | 1840.50 | -2.61 | -0.14 |
Nikkei 225 | 16229.86 | -144.28 | -0.88 |
Straits Times | 3292.21 | 1.22 | 0.04 |
KOSPI Composite | 2031.64 | -2.47 | -0.12 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8989.82 | -21.77 | -0.24 |