SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were in Monday trade as investors reacted to the latest Chinese economic data for October.
Mainland Chinese stocks were lower, with the Shanghai composite slipping around 0.06% while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.22%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index sat below the flatline.
The losses came despite Chinese economic data coming in better than expected.
Data released Monday showed retail sales in China rose 4.9% year-on-year in October, higher than the 3.5% gain predicted in a Reuters poll. Industrial output for the month also grew 3.5% compared to a year ago, beating expectations by analysts in a Reuters poll for a 3% increase.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.11%, leading gains among the region’s major markets as shares of chipmaker SK Hynix soared more than 4%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.49% as shares of conglomerate SoftBank Group jumped more than 1%. The Topix index gained 0.39%.
Preliminary estimates released Monday showed Japan’s gross domestic product declining an annualized 3% in the July-September quarter, far worse than the median market forecast for a 0.8% contraction, according to Reuters.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.39%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.34% higher.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 94.996 following a recent rise from below 94.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.85 per dollar, following last week’s weakening from levels below 113 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was at $0.7336, having slipped from above $0.74 last week.
Oil prices declined in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.72% to $81.58 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.62% to $80.29 per barrel.
