Asian markets mixed after China reports slower growth in second half
BANGKOK — Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday after China reported that its economy expanded at an 8.1% annual pace in 2021, though growth slowed to half that level in the last quarter.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225
JP:NIK
advanced 0.7% as the government reported machinery orders rose in November as private investment and manufacturing activity improved during a lull in coronavirus outbreaks. Shipbuilders orders surged 170%.
South Korea’s Kospi
KR:180721
sank 1.2% after North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea early Monday in its fourth weapons launch this month, South Korea’s military said, with the apparent goal of demonstrating its military might amid paused diplomacy with the United States and pandemic border closures.
The Shanghai Composite index
CN:SHCOMP
gained 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HK:HSI
dropped 0.7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
AU:XJO
edged 0.1% higher. Stocks slipped in Indonesia
ID:JAKIDX,
but rose slightly in Singapore
SG:STI
and Taiwan
TW:Y9999.
The weakness in China’s economy toward the end of 2021 is prompting suggestions Beijing should intervene to prop up growth with interest rate cuts or by injecting money into the economy through public works spending.
Shortly before the growth data were released, the Chinese central bank announced a rate cut on medium-lending to commercial banks to the lowest level since 2020.
“Economic momentum remains weak amid repeated virus outbreaks and a struggling property sector,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary. He expects China’s policymakers to keep limits on lending relatively tight and control credit growth.
“The upshot is that policy easing is likely to soften the economic downturn rather than drive a rebound,” he said.
Slowing activity in China, the region’s biggest economy, can chill growth throughout the region. Lockdowns and other precautions imposed to combat outbreaks of coronavirus can also worsen shortages of key parts and components, adding to difficulties with shipping and supply chains.
On Friday, the S&P 500
SPX
eked out a 0.1% gain to 4,662.85, surging in the final minutes of trading after having been down about 1% earlier in the day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq
COMP
posted a 0.6% gain, closing at 14,893.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
fell 0.6% to 35,911.81.
A rally in technology stocks, plus gains in energy and other sectors, helped outweigh declines in banks and elsewhere in the market on a day when investors were mainly focused on a mix of company earnings reports and discouraging data on retail sales.
The mixed finish capped a week of choppy trading on Wall Street that deepened the market’s January slump. The benchmark S&P 500, which soared 26.9% in 2021, is now about 2.8%…
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