Share prices in Asia were mixed on Friday after China reported that its economy contracted 2.6 percent quarterly in the second quarter, as COVID-19 shutdowns kept businesses closed and people at home.
In Taiwan, the TAIEX closed up 112.1 points, or 0.78 percent, at 14,550.62, up 0.6 percent from a week earlier. Turnover totaled NT$226.758 billion (US$7.57 billion).
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.54 percent to 26,788.47, gaining 1.02 percent weekly, while the broader TOPIX lost 0.03 percent to 1,892.50, but rose 0.27 percent for the week.
Photo: AP
Seoul’s KOSPI was up 0.37 percent at 2,330.98, but dropped 0.84 percent from a week earlier.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.68 percent to 6,605.6, and lost 1.08 percent weekly, while India’s SENSEX rose 0.65 percent to 53,760.78, but posted a weekly decline of 1.32 percent.
Hong Kong and Chinese markets led Asian losses after data showed China’s economy grew just 0.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter as it was battered by COVID-19 lockdowns in major cities including Shanghai and Beijing.
The reading was well off the 1.6 percent predicted by analysts in an Agence France-Presse survey, although there was speculation that it would pressure authorities to unveil new stimulus measures.
Disease prevention controls shut down Shanghai, the site of the world’s busiest port, and other manufacturing centers starting in late March, fueling concerns that global trade and manufacturing might be disrupted. Millions of families were confined to their homes, depressing consumer spending.
More outbreaks in China and elsewhere in Asia this week have raised worries that COVID-19 controls might be restored, on top of existing precautions.
The Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.64 percent to 3,228.06, declining 3.81 percent from a week earlier, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.19 percent to 20,297.72, down 6.57 percent on the week.
“We remain cautious on growth outlook in the second half, as spread of the much more infectious Omicron variant across the country could trigger another round of widespread lockdowns,” Nomura chief China economist Lu Ting (陸挺) said.
Hong Kong-listed tech firms also tumbled on news that executives at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) had been called in for meetings with Chinese officials following the theft of a vast police database.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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