Asian markets ended lower on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) downgraded its 2019 GDP forecast and China reported worse than expected trade data for the month of February. Investors also looked ahead to the release of the US Labor Department's closely-watched monthly jobs report for February later in the day. Chinese shares ended lower, after official data showed Chinese exports plummeted 20.7 percent in February from a year earlier, reflecting weaker demand and distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday. That was far below expectations for a 4.8 percent drop. Imports fell 5.2 percent after a 1.5 percent fall in January. Further, Japanese shares settled in red, as a downward revision of the ECB's growth/ inflation projections as well as weak Chinese data sapped investors' appetite for risk. Meanwhile, a raft of domestic data proved to be a mixed bag.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,969.86 | -136.56 | -4.40 |
Hang Seng | 28,228.42 | -551.03 | -1.91 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,383.07 | -74.89 | -1.16 |
KLSE Composite | 1,679.90 | -7.05 | -0.42 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,025.56 | -430.45 | -2.01 |
Straits Times | 3,195.87 | -33.61 | -1.04 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,137.44 | -28.35 | -1.31 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,241.75 | -69.93 | -0.68 |
