Asian stocks stumble as weak Chinese data fuels global growth concerns

HONG KONG, Sept. 15 (Reuters) – Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as weak Chinese economic data heightened concerns over slowing growth globally as well as in the world’s second-largest economy amid strained nerves in the face of a still dominant pandemic and the crumbling of central banks. stimulus.

The largest MSCI Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.82%, extending earlier losses after the release of Chinese data, while the Tokyo Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.82% lost 0.89%, after a close of more than 31 years. high the day before.

An explosion of data from China showed companies were grappling with the impact of localized lockdowns following sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks, bottlenecks and high raw material costs.

Retail sales grew at the slowest pace since August 2020 and exceeded analysts’ expectations, while industrial production also increased at a slower pace compared to July, highlighting recent signs of slowing economic momentum. in China and adding to expectations that Beijing will offer more stimulus in the coming months. Read more

After the data, Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) were down 0.73%.

The Hong Kong benchmark (.HSI) fell 0.87%, dragged down by casino shares as the Macau gaming hub begins a consultation ahead of a closely watched new offering from its casinos in several billion dollars next year. Read more

Shares of Wynn Macau (1128.HK) at one point fell more than 30%.

Markets also remained focused on the timeline for scaling back the Federal Reserve’s massive stimulus measures in the event of a pandemic.

“There is currently uncertainty in the markets as investors wait to see what the Federal Reserve will do to reduce their asset purchases, which depends on the state of the labor market and the state of the economy. ‘inflation,’ said Sean Debow Asia, CEO of Eurizon Asset Management. .

Debow said greater clarity would emerge on the two in the coming weeks, although so far the markets have reacted quickly to all data points on employment and inflation.

Overnight, the US Department of Labor announced that the Consumer Price Index in August had registered its smallest gain in six months, suggesting that inflation has likely peaked, in line with Long’s belief. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s date that high inflation is transient. Read more

The fall in inflation suggests that the Fed will be under less pressure to start scaling back its large asset purchases and, as a result, the yield on the 10-year benchmark US10YT = RR has fallen to 1.263%, its highest. low since August 24. .

Yields recovered slightly and were little changed in Asia on Wednesday at 1.285%, while the dollar was stable after also slipping against a basket of its peers on inflation figures.

Overnight on Wall Street, concerns about slowing growth saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI lose, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) fell 0.57% and the Nasdaq Composite (. IXIC) by 0.45%.

Barely a tenth of respondents to Bank of America’s monthly fund manager survey expects a stronger global economy in the coming months, marking the lowest proportion since the initial COVID-19 panic in April last, showed the September edition of the survey. Read more

The spread of the Delta variant has been cited as the reason for the pessimism.

Oil prices rose on a larger than expected drop in crude oil inventories in the United States, with U.S. crude gaining 0.51% to $ 70.82 per barrel and Brent crude increasing 0.46% to $ 73.94 per barrel.

Spot gold was trading at $ 1,802.0374 an ounce versus 0.12%, after hitting a one-week high at $ 1,808.50 amid lower interest rate prospects.

Editing by Shri Navaratnam

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