Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday after daily covid cases surged again in China, while strong US retail sales data released overnight dented hopes of a smaller rate hike. Market sentiments weakened further by tracking Wall Street’s weak close overnight amid hawkish comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials. Chinese shares slipped due to worries about ongoing covid curbs in the Country. Hong Kong shares declined after a Chinese multinational technology company Tencent announced to slash its over $20 billion-stake in a Chinese shopping platform Meituan. Moreover, Japanese shares ended marginally lower after data showed the country' trade deficit widened more than expected in October.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,115.43 | -4.55 | -0.15 |
Hang Seng | 18,045.66 | -210.82 | -1.15 |
Jakarta Composite | 7,044.99 | 30.61 | 0.44 |
KLSE Composite | 1,449.32 | 0.94 | 0.06 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,930.57 | -97.73 | -0.35 |
Straits Times | 3,286.04 | 19.87 | 0.61 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,442.90 | -34.55 | -1.39 |
Taiwan Weighted | 14,535.23 | -2.12 | -0.01 |
