The Asian equity markets ended in red on Wednesday, barring Nikkei on expectations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could introduce further stimulus measures at its policy meeting to be held later this week. The International Monetary Fund stated that Japan should stick to its plan to raise the sales tax from 8 percent to 10 per cent in April 2017 in order to deliver fiscal sustainability. Japan’s retail sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -0.2%, from 0.8% in the preceding month. Amid a continued economic slowdown, China’s unemployment rate for the first time in recent years has increased amid reports of layoffs by both state-owned enterprises and private sector firms due to over capacity and falling demand but the government has played it down. The registered unemployment rate in China’s cities stood at 4.05 percent at the end of September, slightly up from 4.04 percent in June. Activity in China's manufacturing sector likely picked up slightly in October but remained subdued, fuelling hopes that the world’s second-largest economy may be bottoming out after a burst of stimulus measures. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) likely edged up to 50.0 in October from 49.8 in September.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,375.20 | -59.14 | -1.72 |
Hang Seng | 22,956.57 | -186.16 | -0.80 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,608.74 | -65.32 | -1.40 |
KLSE Composite | 1,686.51 | -10.44 | -0.62 |
Nikkei 225 | 18,903.02 | 125.98 | 0.67 |
Straits Times | 3,040.51 | -12.02 | -0.39 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,042.51 | -2.14 | -0.10 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8,665.99 | -35.33 | -0.41 |