The stock indices of the largest countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) are mostly down on trading on Wednesday, with the exception of the Chinese Shanghai Composite, which is growing slightly.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 fell by 0.76% by 8:24 Moscow time.
The leaders of the fall among the components of the index are the shares of the transport company Nippon Yusen K.K. (-7.3%), electronics manufacturer Sharp Corp. (-6.5%) and transport Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (-6.1%).
Quotations of shares of the largest clothing retailer in Asia, Fast Retailing, grow by 0.5%, Nissan Motor Co. – by 2.3%.
China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.04% by 8:31 Moscow time, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 1.74%.
China’s foreign trade surplus unexpectedly fell to $79.39 billion in August, a three-month low, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. A month earlier, the indicator reached a record $101.26 billion.
At the same time, analysts expected an average reduction in August to $92.7 billion, reports Trading Economics.
Exports reached $314.92 billion, which is 7.1% higher than in August last year. For the first time since April, growth rates are expressed in a single-digit number in percentage terms. Imports in August increased by 0.3% in annual terms – up to $235.53 billion.
Experts on average assumed an increase of exports by 12.8% per hour, imports – by 1.1%.
The leaders of the decline in Hong Kong are the shares of the Internet giant Baidu Inc. (SPB: BIDU) (-4.15%), Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC Ltd. (-3.7%) and Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. , which provides services for the collection and use of medical data, (-3.5%).
Shares of Tencent Holdings Ltd. fall by 2% on the news that the company acquired a minority stake in the holding company that controls the publisher of the popular video game “Assassin’s Creed” Ubisoft Entertainment SA.
The South Korean Kospi index fell by 1.5% by 8:29 Moscow time.
Shares of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chips and consumer electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. fell in price by 1.9%, while Hyundai Motor – by 0.5%.
The Australian indicator S&P/ASX 200 has decreased by 1.4% since the opening of the market.
Australia’s GDP in the second quarter of 2022 increased by 0.9% compared to the previous quarter, according to official statistics. Growth was recorded for the third quarter in a row. Australia’s economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter. Analysts on average expected GDP growth in the second quarter by 1%, according to Trading Economics.
The market value of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto decreased by 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
