The sunset glow is seen over buildings and a ferris wheel on May 13, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Asia markets were mixed in choppy afternoon trading on Wednesday after economic data from China showed stronger-than-expected growth.
China posted 4.9% growth in the July to September quarter from a year earlier, according to a release from China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. Economists expected the country’s economy to report growth of 4.4%, according to a Reuters poll.
The world’s second-largest economy also posted higher than expected retail sales data for September, and an urban unemployment rate that fell to its lowest level in nearly two years last month.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.15% in its final hour of trade, reversing earlier gains, while China’s benchmark CSI 300 index fell 0.79% to finish at 3,610.58 — its lowest level in almost a year.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.3% higher at 7,077.60, ahead of its unemployment figures on Thursday. The unemployment rate is one of the key metrics that the Reserve Bank of Australia considers when setting its monetary policy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 were near flat, ending at 32,042.25 and the Topix added 0.14% to extend Tuesday’s gains, finishing at 2,295.34.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.1% up at 2,462.6, while the Kosdaq slipped 1.4% to end the day at 808.89.
The Taiex in Taiwan dropped about 1.21%, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp down 2% after the U.S. announced new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips to China.
Source link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/asia-stock-market-today-live-updates.html