Asian Shares Mixed On China Growth Concerns

Asian shares ended mixed on Thursday, with Chinese markets seeing much volatility on concerns about slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.

Geopolitical tensions remained on investors’ radar after Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran on Thursday, targeting separatist militants.

The dollar and Treasury yields remained elevated after comments from central bank officials indicated that interest rates will not come down as early as some had initially thought.

Oil edged higher in Asian trade amid lingering Middle East tensions and after estimates of rising global oil demand by OPEC.

Chinese stocks fell sharply to probe multi-year lows before reversing direction to end on a firm note.

The Shanghai Composite index ended 0.43 higher at 2,845.78, after having hit a low of 2,760.98 in intraday trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fluctuated before ending 0.75 percent higher at 15,391.79.

Japanese markets ended on a flat note after recent strong gains. The Nikkei average finished marginally lower at 35,466.17, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.17 percent to 2,492.09.

Robot maker Fanuc declined 2.6 percent and video game maker Nexon slumped 5.5 percent while automaker Toyota Motor rose 2.6 percent, tracking a weaker yen ahead of key consumer price inflation data due on Friday.

Japan’s core machinery orders declined 4.9 percent in November from the previous month, while industrial output declined 0.9 percent, separate data showed earlier in the day.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains, with the Kospi average closing up 0.17 percent at 2,440.04 on bargain hunting following a recent market decline. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose about 1 percent and No.2 chipmaker SK Hynix rallied 4 percent.

Australian stocks fell notably as data showed domestic employment fell sharply in December. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.63 percent to 7,346.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed down 0.62 percent at 7,575.60.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P NZX-50 index fell 0.68 percent to 11,687.18.

U.S. stocks fell overnight to extend losses from the previous session as strong December retail sales data along with an unexpected uptick in industrial production in the month added to anxiety about the outlook for interest rates.

Resilient consumer spending helped propel the economy in recent weeks, offsetting weakness in other sectors like manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book survey.

The Dow slipped 0.3 percent to reach its lowest closing level in almost a month while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both shed around 0.6 percent.