Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as three days of trade negotiations between mid-level American and Chinese officials ended in Beijing without significant breakthroughs. China said meetings were 'extensive, in-depth and detailed' without offering specifics. Chinese shares ended lower after the release of lower-than-expected inflation data. Consumer prices in China were up just 1.9 percent year on year in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 2.1 percent year on year and down from 2.2 percent in November. The bureau also said that producer prices were up an annual 0.9 percent - well shy of forecasts for 1.6 percent and down sharply from 2.7 percent in the previous month. Further, Japanese shares ended lower as the yen firmed up in view of the dovish tone of the Fed minutes released on Wednesday.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,535.10 | -9.24 | -0.36 |
Hang Seng | 26,521.43 | 59.11 | 0.22 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,328.71 | 56.47 | 0.90 |
KLSE Composite | 1,678.88 | 11.05 | 0.66 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,163.80 | -263.26 | -1.29 |
Straits Times | 3,183.51 | 25.44 | 0.81 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,063.28 | -1.43 | -0.07 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,720.69 | -17.62 | -0.18 |
