Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, as worries about the escalating Washington-Beijing trade war overshadowed investors’ optimism about the NAFTA trade talks. Chinese shares ended lower as trade fears lingered and investors awaited cues from manufacturing data due Friday. Meanwhile, Japanese shares gave up initial gains to end on a flat note. Retail sales in Japan rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent sequentially in July, a government report showed today. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent. On an annual basis, retail sales climbed 1.5 percent - exceeding expectations for 1.2 percent and down from 1.8 percent in the previous month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,737.74 | -31.55 | -1.15 |
Hang Seng | 28,164.05 | -252.39 | -0.90 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,018.96 | -46.19 | -0.77 |
KLSE Composite | 1,819.66 | -0.98 | -0.05 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,869.50 | 21.28 | 0.09 |
Straits Times | 3,225.72 | -18.20 | -0.56 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,307.35 | -1.68 | -0.07 |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,093.75 | -5.82 | -0.05 |
