Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in the red in early morning deals on Monday as Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.7% last year, its slowest rate in 14 years at a time of concern about the strength of the world’s number two economy. Growth for the December quarter also came in at 7.7%, slowing from 7.8% in the previous three months. Moreover, investors are awaiting industrial production and Retail sales data expected to be released later in the day. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan are trading weak, while markets in Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan are up marginally.
Shanghai Composite declined 8.48 points or 0.42% to 1,996.47, Hang Seng decreased 118.59 points or 0.51% to 23,014.76, KLSE Composite dipped 4.09 points or 0.23% to 1,808.92, Nikkei 225 shed 99.17 points or 0.63% to 15,635.29 and Straits Times was down by 10.80 points or 0.34% to 3,136.53.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite rose 16.28 points or 0.37% to 4,428.51, Seoul Composite increased 5.39 points or 0.28% to 1,949.87 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 27.56 points or 0.32% to 8,623.56.