Asian markets retreat on weak Chinese and Japanese economy reports

09 Feb 2012 Evaluate

Asian markets retreated on Thursday’s trading session after gaining good ground in the previous session as investors chose to take profits off the table amid increasing concerns over Euro-zone sovereign debt trouble. Investors even overlooked the positive close on Wall Street overnight as reports showed that Greece's debt restructuring talks ended without a conclusive deal. Cautiousness prevailed in the region since agreement among Greek politicians over a deal to bail out the country, which is nearing a deadline to pay a tranche of debt, lingered for yet another day.

Investors’ mood in the region also got dampened by disappointing Chinese inflation reading for January while weak Japan's core machinery orders data too, raised concerns over global growth outlook. Chinese inflation surprisingly bounced in the first month of 2012 owing to the sharp rise in spending and food-price gains in a weeklong Lunar New Year holidays. On the other hand, Japan’s machine orders plunged more than expected in December slipped 7.1% from the previous month, highlighting the fact that appreciation in yen and slowing global growth is weighing on capital expenditure.

Hang Seng declined 107.94 points or 0.51% to 20,910.52, Jakarta Composite shed 26.05 points or 0.65% to 3,962.65, Nikkei 225 slipped 40.99 points or 0.45% to 8,974.60, Straits Times eased 4.98 points or 0.17% to 2,977.22 and Seoul Composite plunged 16.43 points or 0.82% to 1,987.30.

On the flipside only, Shanghai Composite rose 0.37 points or 0.02% to 2,347.90 and Taiwan Weighted gained 18.91 points or 0.24% to 7,888.82.

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