Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Thursday after a raft of Chinese data came in below estimates. Investors also awaited the release of US inflation data later in the day for clues on the possible timing of the Federal Reserve's next rate rise. Chinese shares eased from a 20-month high after the release of weaker-than-expected data. Reports showed China's industrial output grew an annual 6.0 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said - missing forecasts for an increase of 6.6 percent and down from 6.4 percent in July. Retail sales rose 10.1 percent - again missing expectations for 10.5 percent growth, while fixed asset investment advanced an annual 6.7 percent - shy of forecasts for 6.8 percent. Further, Japanese shares ended lower as the dollar held steady against the yen and data showed Japan's industrial output declined as initially estimated in July. Sentiments also turned sour after North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons to ‘sink’ Japan and reduce the United States to ‘ashes and darkness’ for supporting a new round of sanctions by the United Nations.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,371.43 | -12.72 | -0.38 |
Hang Seng | 27,777.20 | -116.88 | -0.42 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,852.00 | 6.27 | 0.11 |
KLSE Composite | 1,781.37 | -4.70 | -0.26 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,807.44 | -58.38 | -0.29 |
Straits Times | 3,220.95 | -9.41 | -0.29 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,377.66 | 17.48 | 0.74 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,553.57 | 20.69 | 0.20 |