All the Asian markets barring Taiwan Weighted, concluded Friday’s trade in red amid worries that Federal Reserve would cut its stimulus, with mainland Chinese stocks finishing lower after witnessing a dramatic surge earlier in the day. Japan's Nikkei share average fell for a second day led by financials on speculation that the Federal Reserve may begin to trim its stimulus soon. Hong Kong shares, after tracking Friday’s roller-coaster ride for mainland Chinese markets, ended the day on a tepid note, but they still had their best week of the year. The Shanghai Composite ended the week 0.8% higher despite today’s losses, while the Hang Seng Index was among the region’s best weekly performers with a 3.3% gain. Also posting weekly gains, South Korea’s Kospi added 2.1%, and the Nikkei Stock Average edged 0.3% higher.
Shanghai’s inflation growth eased in July while industrial production expanded faster and investment remained flat, indicating strengthening economic performance in the city. The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, rose 2% from a year earlier last month, compared with the increase of 2.5% in June, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau stated. It bucked the national trend last month as China’s inflation growth was unchanged at 2.7%. Meanwhile, the city’s industrial production grew 2.5% year on year to 261.1 billion yuan ($42.1 billion) in July, accelerating from the pace of 0.9% a month earlier.
Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso both downplayed this week’s report that the government is considering a corporate tax cut. Indonesia’s Finance Minister Chatib Basri stated that Indonesia’s budget for next year will put heavy emphasis on promoting domestic demand as the driver of growth as the country’s exports will remain weak. Basri conceded that this year’s 6.3% economic growth target would be hard to reach.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2068.45 | -13.43 | -0.64 |
Hang Seng | 22517.81 | -21.44 | -0.10 |
Jakarta Composite | 4568.65 | -116.48 | -2.49 |
KLSE Composite | 1788.24 | -3.97 | -0.22 |
Nikkei 225 | 13650.11 | -102.83 | -0.75 |
Straits Times | 3197.53 | -23.39 | -0.73 |
KOSPI Composite | 1920.11 | -3.80 | -0.20 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7925.00 | 37.74 | 0.48 |
