Asian markets mixed after weaker economic data from China, Japan

By Marketwatch and Associated Press

Bloomberg News

Cans of beer are displayed for sale at a Bic Camera Inc. electronics store in Tokyo. Japan’s economy grew slower than expected in the September-ending quarter.

Asian markets were mixed in early trading Thursday after weaker-than-expected economic data from China and Japan, and reports of a sticking point in U.S.-China trade negotiations.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the trade talks were being held up by China’s reluctance to agree on a specific figure for U.S. agricultural purchases. President Donald Trump has said China has agreed to buy $50 billion of farm goods. Rolling back tariffs and enforcement mechanisms are also reportedly still points of contention.

In economic news Thursday, China said its economic activity grew slower than expected in October, up 4.7% from a year ago, and down from September’s 5.8% increase. Economists had expected a 5.2% rise. Data also showed Japan’s economy grew slower than expected in the September-ending quarter, up just 0.2% year-over-year, following a 1.8% expansion in the previous quarter. Economists had forecast a 0.8% gain.

Also Thursday, Australia’s government reported employment fell by a bigger-than-expected margin in October. That prompted expectations the central bank will cut interest rates to prop up economic growth.

Japan’s Nikkei /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +0.23%   fell 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +1.07%   retreated 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.43%   inched up 0.1% and the Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed CN:399106 +0.82%   gained 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +1.02%   rose 0.2%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 +0.13%  , Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI +0.65%  , Malaysia /zigman2/quotes/210598052/delayed MY:FBMKLCI +0.31%   and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX +0.56%   fell. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.36%   rose 0.5%.

Among individual stocks, Yahoo Japan parent Z Holdings /zigman2/quotes/207641152/delayed JP:4689 -0.26%  , which is controlled by SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 +0.16%  , skyrocketed in Tokyo trading after reports that it may acquire chat app Line /zigman2/quotes/205382025/delayed JP:3938 0.00%  . Rakuten /zigman2/quotes/201861450/delayed JP:4755 +0.22%   and FamilyMart /zigman2/quotes/207640090/delayed JP:8028 -0.67%   sank. In Hong Kong, Tencent /zigman2/quotes/204605823/delayed HK:700 +1.70%   fell after reporting a 13% drop in quarterly profit . Insurer AIA /zigman2/quotes/203565558/delayed HK:1299 +0.52%   also declined, while Apple supplier AAC /zigman2/quotes/201441510/delayed HK:2018 +8.97%   gained. Kia Motors /zigman2/quotes/206019389/delayed KR:000270 +0.11%   advanced in South Korea, while Foxconn /zigman2/quotes/204111604/delayed TW:2354 -0.30%   slid in Taiwan. In Australia, BHP /zigman2/quotes/201448516/delayed AU:BHP -0.13%   was about flat after naming a new CEO, while Beach Energy /zigman2/quotes/200513631/delayed AU:BPT +3.75%   gained.

Investors are cautions “seemingly on the lack of good news on trade talks with China,” said Stephen Innes of AxiTrader in a report.

“It’s more about China getting locked into a numerical commitment as opposed to balking at the deal,” said Innes. “This is something that needs to get ironed out and certainly not a bridge too far.”

Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects the U.S. economy to keep growing at a solid pace but faces risks from slower global growth and trade tension.

The Fed cut short-term rates last month for the third time this year, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

On Wall Street, buying focused on safe-play stocks such as utilities, real estate companies and makers of consumer products that tend to pay higher dividends. Banks, industrial stocks and companies declined.

The benchmark S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +1.05%   rose 0.1% to 3,094.04, a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA +1.23%   gained 0.3% to 27,783.59, also a record. The Nasdaq /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP +1.00%   dropped 0.1% to 8,482.10.

Benchmark U.S. crude   rose 31 cents to $57.43 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 32 cents on Wednesday to close at $57.12. Brent crude  , used to price international oils, advanced 24 cents to $62.61 per barrel in London. It gained 29 cents the previous session to $62.37.

The dollar /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY -0.0598%   declined to 108.68 yen from Wednesday’s 108.84 yen.

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Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

23,354.40

+54.31 +0.23%

Volume: 0.00

Dec. 6, 2019 3:15p

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Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

26,498.37

+281.33 +1.07%

Volume: 1.64M

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Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

2,912.01

+12.55 +0.43%

Volume: 13.41B

Dec. 6, 2019 3:01p

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Shenzhen Composite Index

CN : Shenhzen Stock Exchange

1,640.33

+13.36 +0.82%

Volume: 22.84B

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

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KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,081.85

+21.11 +1.02%

Volume: 440,188

Dec. 6, 2019 6:01p

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Taiwan TAIEX

TW : Taiwan Stock Exchange

11,609.64

+14.99 +0.13%

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Dec. 6, 2019 1:33p

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FTSE Straits Times Index

SG : Singapore: SGX

3,194.71

+20.52 +0.65%

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FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI

MY : Malaysia

1,568.44

+4.86 +0.31%

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JSX Composite Index

ID : Indonesia Stock Exchange

6,186.87

+34.75 +0.56%

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S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

6,707.00

+24.00 +0.36%

Volume: 459,318

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Z Holdings Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 379.00

-1.00 -0.26%

Volume: 11.58M

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

P/E Ratio

25.22

Dividend Yield

2.34%

Market Cap

¥1809.72 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥77.26M

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SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 4,257.00

+7.00 +0.16%

Volume: 10.04M

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.62

Dividend Yield

1.03%

Market Cap

¥8802.76 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥126.96M

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LINE Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 5,120.00

0.00 0.00%

Volume: 600,500

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥1225.74 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥40.62M

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Rakuten Inc.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 915.00

+2.00 +0.22%

Volume: 8.73M

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

P/E Ratio

65.84

Dividend Yield

0.49%

Market Cap

¥1237.59 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥74.20M

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FamilyMart Co. Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,513.00

-17.00 -0.67%

Volume: 1.03M

Dec. 6, 2019 3:00p

P/E Ratio

23.93

Dividend Yield

1.59%

Market Cap

¥1280.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥61.29M

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Tencent Holdings Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 335.60

+5.60 +1.70%

Volume: 15.64M

Dec. 6, 2019 4:08p

P/E Ratio

32.71

Dividend Yield

0.30%

Market Cap

HK$3127.07 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$8.27M

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AIA Group Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 77.95

+0.40 +0.52%

Volume: 30.94M

Dec. 6, 2019 4:08p

P/E Ratio

24.83

Dividend Yield

1.52%

Market Cap

HK$934.28 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$12.98M

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AAC Technologies Holdings Inc.

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 61.95

+5.10 +8.97%

Volume: 26.79M

Dec. 6, 2019 4:08p

P/E Ratio

23.63

Dividend Yield

2.31%

Market Cap

HK$68.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$411,637

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Kia Motors Corp.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 43,800.00

+50.00 +0.11%

Volume: 676,997

Dec. 6, 2019 3:30p

P/E Ratio

11.15

Dividend Yield

2.05%

Market Cap

₩17540.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

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Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd.

TW : Taiwan

NT$ 67.30

-0.20 -0.30%

Volume: 3.14M

Dec. 6, 2019 1:30p

P/E Ratio

10.59

Dividend Yield

4.75%

Market Cap

NT$95.48 billion

Rev. per Employee

NT$888.52M

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BHP Group Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 37.36

-0.05 -0.13%

Volume: 2.86M

Dec. 6, 2019 4:10p

P/E Ratio

15.72

Dividend Yield

5.13%

Market Cap

$189.17 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

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Beach Energy Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 2.49

+0.09 +3.75%

Volume: 6.58M

Dec. 6, 2019 4:10p

P/E Ratio

9.85

Dividend Yield

0.80%

Market Cap

$5.47 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

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S&P 500 Index

US : S&P US

3,150.05

+32.62 +1.05%

Volume: 549.46M

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Dow Jones Industrial Average

US : Dow Jones Global

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NASDAQ Composite Index

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

8,656.37

+85.67 +1.00%

Volume: 734,516

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Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

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