Most of the Asian markets barring Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng concluded Thursday’s trade in green after Washington lawmakers voted to reopen the US government and raise the debt ceiling. Foreign investment in China gained 6.2 percent to $88.6 billion in the first nine months of 2013. The country attracted $8.8 billion of foreign direct investment in September-- up 4.9% on the year. The government however warned that the world’s number two economy still faced domestic and external headwinds. The commerce ministry stated that China’s trade will face challenges in coming months due to slowing demand from emerging markets.
The Bank of Japan is preparing a plan to extend three special loan facilities that have backed more than $81 billion in lending over the past three years, a step intended to nudge Japan’s risk-averse banks to start creating credit. The unemployment rate in Hong Kong remained unchanged last month. The Census and Statistics department stated that Hong Kong Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 3.3%, from 3.3% in the preceding month. The government expects the unemployment rate to remain at low levels in the near term, given the generally positive hiring attitude in the corporate sector.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2188.54 | -4.53 | -0.21 |
Hang Seng | 23094.88 | -133.45 | -0.57 |
Jakarta Composite | 4518.93 | 26.67 | 0.59 |
KLSE Composite | 1797.42 | 6.05 | 0.34 |
Nikkei 225 | 14586.51 | 119.37 | 0.83 |
Straits Times | 3186.62 | 12.59 | 0.40 |
KOSPI Composite | 2040.61 | 6.00 | 0.29 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8374.68 | 42.50 | 0.51 |
