On August 14, 2024, visitors enjoyed Tokyo’s skyline from the Bunkyo Civic Center Observation Deck, captured by Philip Fong for AFP and Getty Images. Asia-Pacific markets saw significant declines on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 suffering the most after a disappointing U.S. jobs report on Friday. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 142,000, falling short of the 161,000 predicted by economists polled by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.2%, aligning with expectations.
Asian traders evaluated Japan’s revised Q2 GDP and China’s consumer price index report. Japan reported an annualized 2.9% Q2 GDP growth, below the 3.2% forecast by economists polled by Reuters and down from the preliminary 3.1%. This weaker GDP growth may limit the Bank of Japan’s ability to raise interest rates. In China, the annual inflation rate rose by 0.6%, less than the 0.7% anticipated, and the CPI increased by 0.4% month-on-month, also below the expected 0.5%.
The Nikkei dropped 2.14%, with the Topix falling 1.99%. The Japanese yen weakened by 0.3% against the U.S. dollar to 142.71, retreating from a nine-month low. Kathy Lien from BK Asset Management indicated that risk-off sentiment could trigger aggressive equity sell-offs, and traders are closely monitoring the yen.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.88%, though the Kosdaq rose 0.37%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.93%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 1.09%. Early Monday, Midea Group, a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, announced its listing of 492.1 million shares in Hong Kong, potentially raising HK$26.97 billion ($3.46 billion), making it the city’s largest listing in over three years.
In the U.S., last week was rough for markets, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both recording their worst weekly performances since March 2023 and March 2022, respectively. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.73%, Nasdaq dropped 2.55%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.01%.—Report by CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Pia Singh.
Original Story https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/09/asia-stock-markets-japan-q2-gdp-china-cpi.html
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