Stock indices of major Asia-Pacific countries (APR) mostly fell in trading on Thursday.
The exception was the Australian index, which rose amid statistical data showing an improvement in the unemployment rate in the country.
Pressure on other markets again have concerns about the negative impact of China’s tough policy in the fight against coronavirus, notes MarketWatch.
The value of Japanese index Nikkei 225 decreased by 0.35% by close of trading.
The volume of Japanese exports in October increased by 25.3% over the same month last year to 9.002 trillion yen (about $ 64 billion), according to the Ministry of Finance. The rise continues for 20 months in a row. At that, the growth rate slowed down from 28.9% in September.
Analysts on average had expected exports to rise 28.1% last month, according to Trading Economics.
Japanese imports soared 53.5% last month to a record 11.165 trillion yen. Analysts on average had forecast a 49.7% increase after a 45.7% rise in September. The index has been rising at a double-digit percentage rate for 18 consecutive months.
Shares of nonferrous metals producer Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (-5.4%), semiconductor maker Advantest Corp. (-3.1%) and electronics maker Tokyo Electron Ltd. (-3%).
Shares of Hitachi Ltd. rose 0.6%. The company’s unit won a major railroad contract worth about 114 billion yen ($817 million) from the Philippine Department of Transportation.
China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.15% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.2%.
Shares of game developer Netease Inc. (-9.1%), Internet company Meituan (-5.7%) and car dealer Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd. (-5.4%) were among the leaders of the decline on Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Tencent Holdings Ltd. shares declined 0.8 percent. The Chinese internet giant increased its net profit by 1 percent to 39.9 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago because of a cut in expenses.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.4 percent.
One of the world’s biggest chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 2.1%, while automaker Hyundai Motor dropped 1.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.09%.
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.4% in October from 3.5% a month earlier. Experts polled by Trading Economics, on average, forecasted an increase to 3.6%.
Share prices rose in all four major banks in the country: the Commonwealth Bank of Australia – by 0.7%, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group – 0.5%, Westpac Banking – 0.2%, National Australia Bank – 0.9%.
At the same time stock quotes of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto fell by 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
