Asia-Pacific markets were trading in negative territory on Friday as investors weighed fresh regional economic data against Wall Street’s overnight strength.
By 11:30 am. AEST (1:30 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 0.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 lost 0.4%.
In South Korea, industrial production edged up 0.3% on a monthly basis, missing expectations of 0.5% and slowing from 1.7% in the prior period. On a yearly basis, output surged 5.0%, well above forecasts of 3.5% and an improvement from June’s 1.6% rise.
Retail sales rose also 2.5% in the latest month, accelerating from 0.7% previously.
In Japan, the Tokyo consumer price index, which excludes fresh food but includes energy, rose 2.6% year-on-year in August.
Preliminary industrial production fell 1.6%, greater than an expected 1.6% decline and slowing from last month's rise of 2.1%.
Meanwhile, Japan’s unemployment rate eased to 2.3% in July from 2.5% previously.
On Wall Street overnight, major U.S. benchmarks posted fresh highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to close at a record, as did the S&P 500, gaining 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%.
In commodities, Brent crude rose 0.8% to US$67.98 a barrel, while spot gold gained 0.6% to US$3,417.06, breaking above the key US$3,400 resistance level to reach multiweek highs.
Chinese equities outperformed, with the Shanghai Composite climbing 1.1% to 3,843.6 and the CSI 300 advancing 1.8% to 4,463.8.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.8% to 24,998.8, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.9% to 80,080.6.
European markets closed mixed on Thursday. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.4% to 9,216.8, Germany’s DAX was flat at 24,039.9, and France’s CAC 40 edged 0.2% higher to 7,762.6.
