Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Friday as investors awaited a series of economic reports from China.
By 11:35 am AEDT (12:35 am GMT), South Korea’s Kospi 200 eased 0.3%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.2%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1%.
China is set to release its industrial output and retail sales data for December, alongside fourth-quarter GDP figures. Markets estimate China’s GDP growth for the quarter at 5% year-on-year, up from 4.6% in the prior quarter.
Overnight in the U.S., major indices lost early gains, with the S&P 500 and Dow ending three-day winning streaks amid weakness in technology stocks. The S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to close at 5,937.34, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9% to 19,338.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 43,153.1.
Chinese equities ended higher on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3% to 3,236, with the CSI 300 up 0.1% to 3,800.4.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also added 0.3% to close at 19,286.1.
In India, the BSE SENSEX gained 0.3%, closing at 76,724.1.
European markets ended Thursday on a positive note. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, closing at 8,391.9, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.4% to 20,655.4, and France’s CAC 40 advanced 2.1% to 7,634.7.
