Asian shares mixed; Chinese economy grew 3.9% in July-Sept

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (BNA): Most Asian stocks rose on Monday, but indexes fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai after Beijing reported that the Chinese economy gained momentum in the last quarter.

Market watchers are closely watching inflationary pressures and any danger signs of a regional slowdown, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The second-largest economy grew at an annualized pace of 3.9%, up from 0.4% in the previous quarter, but that was among the slowest expansions in decades as the country suffered frequent city shutdowns to combat the virus outbreak.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added nearly 1.0% in morning trading to 27156.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5% to 6,776.50. South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 1.1% to 2238.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 4.3% to 15,509.38, while Shanghai Composite lost 0.7% to 3,017.00.

In China, Xi Jinping granted himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party. Xi showed no sign of plans to change the aggressive “no-COVID” strategy that has stymied business and commerce. He noted the absence of policy changes that strain relations with Washington and neighboring Asian countries.

The future of the FTSE 100 index in London fell after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would not run for leadership of the Conservative Party. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is now the favorite to replace Liz Truss, who resigned last week after her tax-cut economic package disrupted financial markets.

Wall Street ended the week broadly higher, with technology stocks, retailers and healthcare companies taking a large share of the gains.

The S&P 500 rose 2.4% to 3,752.75, posting a weekly gain of 4.7%, its biggest weekly gain since June.

The Dow Jones rose 2.5% to close at 31,082.56, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%, and the Russell 2000 rose 2.2% to end at 1,742.24.

Investors focused on corporate earnings as they searched for clues about how inflation and rising interest rates are shaping global economies.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point at its November meeting. That’s three times the size of the Fed’s usual move.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 148.82 Japanese yen from 147.65 yen. The Bank of Japan reportedly intervened on Friday to support the yen after the dollar rose above the 150 yen level. The dollar fell after the reported intervention. The cost of the euro was 98.30 cents, down from 98.62 cents.

The increasing strength of the dollar against the yen and other currencies has increased inflationary pressures in these countries by increasing the costs of imports and debt repayment.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude fell 43 cents to $84.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 25 cents at $93.24 a barrel.

HF