Asia markets fall as South Korea posts weakest GDP since financial crisis - MarketWatch

Concerns over the global economy hurt enthusiasm for stocks in Asia, with China indexes suffering sharp drops.

The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -2.43%  closed down 2.4%, and has lost 4.5% this week as of Thursday, putting it on track for the worst weekly decline of 2019. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, -0.86%  fell 0.9%. Investors have been grappling with concerns that Chinese officials will slow down on stimulus efforts against a backdrop of upbeat economic data.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 NIK, +0.48% managed a gain of 0.4%. At a meeting Thursday, the Bank of Japan said it would maintain the current state of ultralow yields until spring 2020.

The news was downbeat out of South Korea, where the Kospi SEU, -0.48%  fell about 0.4% First-quarter gross domestic product fell 0.3% against expectations for a 0.3% gain, marking the worst quarter since the global financial crisis.

Indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.11% Singapore STI, -0.36% and Indonesia JAKIDX, -1.16% were mixed. Australia’s trading was closed for Anzac Day, a national holiday.

Among individual stocks, Nintendo 7974, +1.34% rose in Tokyo trading, as did Sony 6758, +1.51% Meanwhile, shares of food manufacturer Kikkoman 2801, -4.35%  fell, along with Nomura Holdings 8604, -0.22% In Hong Kong, the stock of real-estate companies continued to rise, with Sun Hung Kai Properties 0016, +1.50% and Country Garden 2007, -1.59% advancing, while Geely Automobile 0175, -4.86% and oil producer Cnooc 0883, -0.41%  pulled back. Chip maker SK Hynix 000660, +2.17% gained in South Korea as it posted a 69% drop in first-quarter profit, but forecast chip demand to improve later this year.

The dollar USDJPY, -0.67%  fell to 111.58 Japanese yen from 111.85 yen.

Investors are also watching for the U.S. economic growth data being released later in the week, and its potential impact on Asia trade on Monday.

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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-as-wall-street-retreats-from-record-highs-2019-04-24

2019-04-25 14:23:00Z
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