Main Asian indices were mixed on Tuesday, with some posting gains up to 3.6%. Among them are the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite, which added 1.27% and 1.43%, respectively, as well as the Hang Seng Index, which gained 3.58%. The Nikkei 225 edged up by just 0.13%, while the S&P/ASX 200 decreased by the same amount. The KOSPI shed 0.08%.
Chinese markets went up after the Chinese government eased its quarantine restrictions, which gave investors hope that the Chinese economic situation would improve. Over the past month, industrial production reached 5% y/y, below September's 6.3% rate and missing the forecasted increase of 5.2%.
Falling industrial production signals that China's strict quarantine measures are weighing down on the Chinese economy. Retail sales decreased by 0.5% in October after rising by 2.5% in September. Analysts expected sales to increase by 1%.
The best-performing Chinese stocks were Alibaba Group (+12.4%), Tencent (+9.4%), Baidu (+8.8%), and JD.com (+6.8%). Xiaomi and China Mobile rose by 3.5% and 0.3% respectively.
In the previous quarter, Japan's GDP decreased by 0.3% q/q and 1.2% y/y for the first time in four quarters. Economists expected the Japanese economy to increase by 0.3% q/q and 1.1% y/y.
On the Nikkei 225, the best-performing stocks were Fujikura (+6.6%), Eisai (+5.9%), Sumitomo Mitsui (+4.1%), Pacific Metals (+3.9%), and Sumitomo Metal Mining (+3.5%).
Slightly smaller gains were posted by Nintendo, which rose by 2%, SoftBank Group, which gained 1.2%, and Toyota Motor, which increased by 0.7%.
South Korean stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.5% and Hyundai Motor decreasing by 0.9%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 went down due to falling stocks of lithium mining companies, which were undermined by falling prices in the market. Among them are Core Lithium, which fell by 15.8%, Allkem, which decreased by 12.4%, Pilbara Minerals, which slumped by 8.7%, as well as IGO and Mineral Resources, which lost 7.4% and 4.8%, respectively.
Australian energy stocks also slid down, with Beach Energy declining by 2.8%, Woodside Energy losing 1.4%, and Santos shedding 0.3%.
