(MENAFN– ecpulse)
Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday after China`s consumer prices slowed last month by more than expected hitting a seven-month low in December, while the index of producer prices recorded its 22nd straight drop from a year earlier.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.7% to 138.90 as of 17:17 in Tokyo
Also weighing on markets was Wall Street which finished mixed after data showed hiring among US companies rose in December to a 13-month high, raising expectations that the government`s employment report, due on Friday, could be more robust than expected, increasing stimulus cut bets.
In Japan, the benchmark index fell to a one-week low after due to profit taking although the yen continued to weaken against the greenback. Sony provided some support on plans it wants to double smartphone sales in two years.
- Nikkei 225 closed 1.50% lower at 15880.33
- Topix closed 0.73% lower at 1296.75
In China the fall in consumer prices to 2.5% in December from 3.0% a year earlier and news that the central bank skipped open market operations for a fifth straight session hurt sentiment, weighing on the index.
- Shanghai Composite closed 0.82% lower at 2027.62
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.91% lower at 22787.33
In Australia, stocks reversed losses to end in positive territory after November retail sales data beat estimates, while in South Korea stocks fell to the lowest in over four months after Bank of Korea left its base rate unchanged at 2.5%, as widely expected.
- The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.16% higher at 5324.41
- New Zealand’s NZX 50 closed 0.73% higher at 4814.87
- Kospi closed 0.66% lower at 1946.11
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