The Asian markets barring Jakarta Composite and KLSE Composite concluded Tuesday’s trade in red as a slate of data from China offered a mixed view of economic activity. A series of Chinese data out painted a mixed picture of the economy, with industry moderating its strong growth but retail sales picking up their already robust pace. Industrial output for November rose 10% from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month's 10.3% increase but matching the expectations. Chinese retail sales in November climbed 13.7% from a year earlier, up from the 13.3% rise in October. Today’s data also included urban fixed-asset investment, which was up an annualized 19.9% in the January-November period, slowing from a 20.1% gain for January-October. Fixed-asset investment is seen as an indicator of construction activity in China.
Indonesia outlined new fiscal policies, including an increase in taxes on goods ranging from smartphones to jewelry, in a bid to curb imports and raise revenue as a way to reduce its swelling current account deficit by as much as $4 billion next year. Japanese Household Confidence rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 42.5, from 41.2 in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2237.49 | -0.71 | -0.03 |
Hang Seng | 23744.19 | -66.98 | -0.28 |
Jakarta Composite | 4275.68 | 61.34 | 1.46 |
KLSE Composite | 1843.85 | 1.98 | 0.11 |
Nikkei 225 | 15611.31 | -38.90 | -0.25 |
Straits Times | 3081.72 | -31.92 | -1.03 |
KOSPI Composite | 1993.45 | -6.93 | -0.35 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8443.39 | -1.23 | -0.01 |
