Asian stocks retreated on Wednesday after the latest data from China showed broad-based inflation pressure on both the production side and the consumer side.
China’s property woes also rattled investors ahead of highly anticipated U.S. consumer inflation data due out later in the day.
Chinese shares ended lower after the government reported a surge in inflation and property developer Fantasia Holdings said that it has received notices from certain lenders seeking repayment of loans that aren’t due.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slipped 14.54 points, or 0.41 percent, to 3,492.46 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 188.48 points, or 0.76 percent, to 23,001.61.
Consumer prices in China were up 1.5 percent year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier today. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 1.4 percent following the 0.7 percent gain in September.
The bureau also said that producer prices jumped an annual 13.5 percent, exceeding forecasts for an increase of 12.4 percent following the 10.7 percent gain a month earlier.
Japanese shares ended lower for the fourth day running as inflation worries mounted. The downside remained capped by expectations that Kishida’s government will launch a fresh round of stimulus to prop up the economy.
The Nikkei average dropped 178.68 points, or 0.61 percent, to 29,106.78, while the broader Topix index closed 0.58 percent lower at 2,007.16.
Heavyweight SoftBank Group tumbled 3.7 percent while Nissan Motor jumped as much as 7.5 percent after tripling its annual net profit forecast. Toshiba rebounded 1.2 percent after losing 2.6 percent in the previous session on reports that the conglomerate will split into three firms.
Australian markets extended losses for a third straight session, dragged down by miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 10.30 points, or 0.14 percent, to 7423.90, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 18.90 points, or 0.24 percent, at 7.737.40.
Miners Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, South32 and BHP lost 2-3 percent as iron ore prices plunged. Energy stocks ended broadly lower despite oil prices rising sharply overnight. National Australia Bank surged 4.4 percent, a day after delivering better-than-expected full-year profit.
Seoul stocks tumbled amid concerns that rising price pressures may force the Fed to raise rates sooner than expected. The benchmark Kospi shed 32.30 points, or 1.09 percent, to settle at 2,930.17. Electric car battery maker LG Chem lost 3.9 percent and top carmaker Hyundai Motor gave up 2.1 percent.
New Zealand shares ended lower after Pushpay Holdings downgraded its full-year earnings guidance. Shares of the donor management focused payments platform tumbled as much as 13 percent while the benchmark NZX-50 index ended down 68.12 points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,022.46.
U.S. stocks slipped from record levels overnight as Treasuries surged, Bitcoin hit new records and data showed producer prices increased solidly in October, suggesting that high inflation could persist for a while.
The S&P 500 gave up 0.4 percent to snap an eight-day winning streak and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 percent to snap an 11-day winning run, while the Dow eased 0.3 percent.
Market Analysis
Asian Shares Retreat Amid Inflation Worries
2021-11-10 08:39:39
