Asian markets finished Thursday in negative territory. Some indexes declined negligibly – the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite shed 0.39% and 0.44% respectively. Other indexes experienced bigger losses, with the KOSPI falling by 1.32%, the S&P/ASX 200 decreasing by 1.19%, and the Nikkei 225 declining by 1.2%. The Hang Seng Index suffered the biggest losses and slid down by 2.24%.
Analysts believe that Chinese markets are on the decline due to slower economic growth. This slowdown is attributed to the "zero COVID" policy of Chinese authorities. Periodic lockdowns are weighing down on economic growth and development.
The People's Bank of China has left the one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.65%. The five-year loan prime rate was also maintained at 4.3%.
On the Hang Seng Index, the worst performing stocks were Wuxi Biologics (Cayman), Inc. (-8.4%), Baidu, Inc. (-7.5%), and Netease, Inc. (-5%).
Shares of Sands China, Ltd. lost 1% following the release of its earnings report. The company's net loss increased due to the coronavirus lockdown in Macau.
Li Ning, Co. fell by 4% despite the company's sales increasing in the previous quarter. Analysts predict the company's fourth quarter results will be quite weak due to quarantine measures.
In Japan, exports rose by 28.9% to 8.82 trillion yen in the previous month ($59 billion), with imports jumping by 45.9% to 10.91 trillion yen. The trade deficit reached 2.094 trillion yen in the previous month, well above the 636.9 billion yen deficit in the same month a year earlier. Imports has outweighed exports for 14 months in a row – the longest such period in 7 years.
On the Nikkei 225, the biggest losers were Fujikura, Ltd. (5.4%), Hoya, Corp. (3.2%), and Toto, Ltd. (3%).
Shares of Shinsei Bank, Ltd. advanced by 7.6% thanks to reports that the bank's financial group SBI Holdings may delist the lender.
On the KOSPI, Kia and Hyundai Motor decreased by 1.2% and 0.3% respectively.
According to the latest data, unemployment in Australia has remained unchanged at 3.5%, matching expectations. The number of employed Australians increased in September by about 900 people.
Stocks on the S&P/ASX 200 were mixed today. BHP Group lost 2.3%, and Rio Tinto decreased by 1.9%. At the same time, Woodside Energy and Santos rose by 6.2% and 2% respectively thanks to rising oil and gas production in the previous quarter.
