Asian stocks mostly dropped in early trading Friday after China’s third-quarter GDP growth came in below expectations, though Chinese stocks bounced back into positive territory.
Stocks in mainland China initially fell about 1% after the report, but boomeranged to gains as trading continued. The Shanghai SHCOMP, +0.32% was last up 0.5% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.43% was up 0.6%. China’s gross domestic product grew 6.5% from the same quarter a year earlier, down slightly from 6.7% growth in the previous quarter and off analysts' expectations of a 6.6% growth. The pace was China’s worst since the first quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, energy stocks were again weak as oil prices fell more overnight, though big-cap financials were modestly higher.
Hong Kong stocks turned around as well, with the Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.11% last down 0.3% after falling almost 1% early. Energy stocks extended yesterday’s underperformance as oil prices declined further Thursday. The tech sector was also hit, with Tencent 0700, -0.43% and Sunny Optical 2382, -1.33% off more than 1%.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -1.09% was down 1.2%, as the machinery sector sank 2.3%, with manufacturer Komatsu 6301, -4.25% shedding 4.3%. Meanwhile, in tech, Sharp 6753, -3.37% and Nintendo 7974, -3.56% were both down some 3% amid fresh yen strength.
South Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.20% was off 0.7%, and Taiwan’s Taiex Y9999, -0.70% slid about 1%. Australia’s ASX 200 XJO, -0.23% — the one gainer in the region Thursday — receded 0.3%, while New Zealand’s benchmark NZ50GR, -1.12% fell more than 1%. Benchmark indexes in Singapore STI, -0.34% and Malaysia FBMKLCI, -0.46% were down slightly.
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