Asian equities prolong its pessimistic trade on Friday

23 Mar 2012 Evaluate

Sentiments remained pessimistic in the Asian region and most of the Asian counters were trading in the red after worse-than-expected economic data from China while, Europe added the fresh worries over global growth, bringing an end to a recent spell of optimism. Though some of the markets are off their early lows, the mood remains quite cautious in the region.

Chinese Shanghai declined in the early trade by over half a percent as its Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 48.1 in March, compared with a final reading of 49.6 in February. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding while a reading below 50 suggests a contraction. Moreover, fears of slower growth in key markets hurt big Japanese exporters, with Toyota Motor Corp down 1.4 percent, Honda Motor off 2 percent and Sony Corp losing 2.3 percent.

Shanghai Composite declined 16.20 points or 0.68% to 2,359.57, Hang Seng dropped 210.15 points or 1.01% to 20,691.41, Nikkei 225 was down 102.60 points or 1.01% to 10,024.48, Seoul Composite slipped 4.66 points or 0.23% to 2,021.46 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 6.16 points or 0.08% to 8,053.78.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite rose 5.33 points or 0.13% to 4,041.56, KLSE Composite was up by 1.36 points or 0.09% to 1,584.60 and Straits Times increased by 14.01 points or 0.47% to 2,993.26.

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