Asia-Pacific markets started the week in a mixed fashion, as investors reacted to renewed geopolitical tensions after United States President Donald Trump warned Iran to “get moving, FAST”, stoking fears of escalation in the Middle East and further disruptions to global oil supply.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “the Clock is Ticking” for Iran and warned there “won’t be anything left” if action was not taken soon, adding “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” He did not specify the steps he expected or potential consequences.
By 11:45 am AEST (1:45 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.3% apiece, while South Korea’s KOSPI 200 ticked up 0.1%.
Oil prices surged on supply concerns, with Brent crude futures for July up 2.4% at US$111.83 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude for June rose 2.9% to $103.93 per barrel.
On the data front, a release from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) at 12 pm AEST (2 am GMT) showed that in April, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 4.1% year on year, falling short of market expectations for a 5.9% increase and down from the previous reading of 5.7%.
Output rose 0.05% month on month.
By ownership structure, value added of state-holding enterprises increased 4.4% year on year, share-holding enterprises rose 6.0%, enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan grew 3.9%, while private enterprises advanced 5.2%.
In terms of output by product category, strong growth was recorded in high-tech manufacturing. Production of 3D printing devices surged 50.9% year on year, lithium-ion batteries rose 36.0%, and industrial robots increased 25.7%.
Total retail sales of consumer goods rose just 0.2% year on year, well below expectations of 2% and down from 1.7% in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 0.48%.
Fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) fell 1.6% year on year, missing expectations for a 1.6% gain, although investment excluding real estate rose 1.3%.
On a monthly basis, fixed asset investment declined 2.36% in April.
Investment in intellectual property products rose 8.9% year on year.
By sector, infrastructure investment increased 4.3% year on year, manufacturing investment rose 1.2%, while real estate development investment dropped 13.7%.
By industry breakdown, investment in the primary sector rose 10.1%, the secondary sector gained 2.5%, and the tertiary sector declined 4.2%.
Private investment fell 5.2% year on year, or 1.9% excluding real estate.
Investment in high-tech industries increased 6.1%, led by aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing (+17.9%), computer and office equipment manufacturing (+13.9%), and information services (+18.1%).
Employment remained broadly stable, with the urban surveyed unemployment rate falling to 5.2% in April, below expectations of 5.3% and down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.
In the U.S. on Friday, major benchmarks closed lower, with the Dow Jones down 1.1%, the S&P 500 off 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.5%.
In commodities on Friday, ICE Brent jumped 3.5% to US$109.26 per barrel, while spot gold declined 2.4% to $4,509.10 per ounce.
In China, the SSE Composite Index dropped 1% to 4,135.4, while the CSI 300 fell 1.1% to 4,859.6.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 1.6% to 25,932.7, and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.2% to 75,238.0.
European markets also finished lower on Friday. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 1.7% to 10,195.4, Germany’s DAX declined 2.1% to 23,950.6, and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.6% to 7,952.6.
