Asian shares mixed on weak China data, worries over pandemic
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher in cautious trading Friday as investors studied fresh data out of China showing that its recovery remains subdued.
China reported factory output rose 4.8% from a year earlier in July, on a par with June’s increase. Retail sales fell 1.1%, as consumers remain cautious.
Malaysia reported, meanwhile, that its economy contracted at a real annual rate of 16.5% in April-June, its worst downturn on record. The Malaysian central bank forecast that the economy will return to growth in 2021.
Widespread worries persist about a second, or third, surge in coronavirus cases in many places. Another afternoon fade for stocks left most benchmarks on Wall Street lower.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained nearly 0.2% to finish at 23,289.36. South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.2% to 2,408.32. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% to 6,126.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4% to 25,334.56, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 3,339.41.
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are also on investors' minds as so much of Asian regional growth depends on exports to those giant economies.
The two sides are due to hold talks online later Friday on a trade deal reached in January that brought a truce in their bruising tariff war.
The data on July retail sales, industrial production and investment painted a mixed picture of some recovery amid the uncertainty.
“We are seeing Asia markets broadly assuming a mixed tone, taking a measured stance between the U.S. fiscal stimulus stalemate and the Chinese data and U.S.-China trade talks,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
Overnight, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2% to 3,373.43. At one point during the day, it climbed above 3,386.15. That’s the record closing level it set in...
