The Asian markets barring Singapore’s Strait Times which was marginally up, concluded Monday’s trade mostly in red. Japanese Nikkei tumbled more than 3% ending at their lowest level in more than a month below the 14,000 line due to the yen’s climb against US dollar and expectation of a series of economic data due to be released this week. Meanwhile, official data released showed Japan’s retail sales climbed 1.6% in June from the year-ago month, though just short of forecasts. Japanese retailers registered a sharp rebound in June sales, which rose 1.6% from a year earlier, compared to May's 0.8% gain. The result was slightly below average expectations for a 1.9% gain.
China’s Shanghai Composite plunged the most in three weeks, sending the key index to a fourth straight day of decline, after China’s top auditor announced a nationwide audit of government debt. Market sentiment was also hit by dismal data showing industrial profits in China rose at a slower pace in June, while a continuous increase in borrowing costs reignited fears over a liquidity squeeze. China’s building materials sector regained steam in the first half, with real estate investment picking up speed.
Indonesia has likely turned the corner on a ballooning current account deficit, with the figure set to narrow in the current quarter after strong imports and a slump in exports widened it in the year’s second quarter, the central bank stated. Bank Indonesia added that the deficit probably widened to $8 billion, or 3.5% of the country’s gross domestic product, in the April-June period, from $5.3 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, in the prior three months. Total exports in the first five months of the year contracted 6.5%, the Central Statistics Agency (BSP) stated, while imports contracted 1.2%.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 1976.31 | -34.54 | -1.72 |
Hang Seng | 21850.15 | -118.80 | -0.54 |
Jakarta Composite | 4580.47 | -78.41 | -1.68 |
KLSE Composite | 1798.78 | -8.83 | -0.49 |
Nikkei 225 | 13661.13 | -468.85 | -3.32 |
Straits Times | 3236.97 | 0.87 | 0.03 |
KOSPI Composite | 1899.89 | -10.92 | -0.57 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8084.50 | -64.90 | -0.80 |
