Asian stocks drifted on Friday after a mixed bag of economic data from China.
Stocks pared earlier gains to trade little changed after Chinese GDP growth weakened, although monthly industrial production data beat estimates.
The indicators might have limited significance as investors look to a potential US-China trade deal between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next month. Shares in Hong Kong traded flat, while equities in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul slipped along with US futures.
“There’s no doubt there’s been some de-escalation of risk, global geopolitical economic risks relative to where we were two weeks ago,” Morgan Stanley Investment Management global fixed income chief investment officer Michael Kushma said. “But it may be just a false dawn. We don’t know yet. Our crystal ball is very cloudy at the moment.”
China’s economic growth slowed to 6 percent in the third quarter, the slowest in nearly three decades, with limited pickup from domestic demand and the downturn in global trade weighing.
Hong Kong stocks weakened on Friday, tracking broader losses in other Asian markets following downbeat China growth data, but made weekly gains on hopes more measures would be taken to support the territory’s economy amid months-long protests.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent to end at 26,719.58, while the China Enterprises Index (HSCE) lost 0.5 percent to close at 10,540.04.
For the week, the Hang Seng was up 1.6 percent, while HSCE climbed 0.8 percent.
Nine major banks in Hong Kong have agreed to adopt a number of measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the territory, the central bank said on Wednesday, following its move to cut banks’ capital buffer to support the faltering economy on Tuesday.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Friday ended down 6.66 points, or 0.06 percent, at 11,180.22, up 1.6 percent from Monday’s opening of 11,004.74 points.
Japan’s TOPIX on Friday slid 0.2 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.6 percent.
India’s NIFTY 50 rose 0.7 percent, bringing its weekly gain to 3.2 percent. The SENSEX rose 0.63 percent on Friday, up 3 percent for the week.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange rose 0.2 percent on Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 1.4 percent.
The Philippine Stock Exchange fell 0.6 percent on Friday, but was up 0.4 percent for the week.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index on Friday slipped 0.2 percent, but rose 0.9 percent for the week.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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