Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
Asia report: Markets fall after tsunami of regional data
(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific markets saw a significant downturn on Tuesday, as investors closely examined a range of economic data emanating from the region.
South Korea reported an inflation rate of 3.3% for November, falling short of the 3.7% expected by a Reuters poll, while Japan's capital Tokyo recorded an inflation rate of 2.6%, signalling a drop from the 3.3% observed in October.
China's Caixin service purchasing managers' index meanwhile reached a three-month high, while Australia's central bank stood pat on interest rates.
"Asia stocks saw declines as they followed a mostly negative trend from Wall Street," said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.
"Major indices on Wall Street were choppy and weighed down due to a rebound in yields ahead of important data releases.
"In Japan, the Nikkei 225 continued to weaken and fell below the 33K handle, despite Tokyo inflation data being softer than expected."
Munnelly added that the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite also retreated, with the latter testing the downside at the 3,000 level due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
"China criticised the US for considering it a threat, and this was followed by US Commerce Secretary [Gina] Raimondo's call for more funds to support chip curbs.
"The Caixin Services PMI data, which showed a three-month high, only provided a brief boost."
Equities in the red across the Asia-Pacific region
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped by 1.37%, closing at 32,775.82, while the Topix index decreased by 0.84% to 2,342.69.
Leading decliners on Tokyo's benchmark included Advantest, down 6.21%, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, down 5.32%, and Tokyo Electron, down 3.96%.
China's markets also experienced losses, with the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices falling by 1.67% to 2,972.30 and 1.97% to 9,470.36, respectively.
Notable decliners in Shanghai included EmbedWay Technologies, down 10%, and Harbin VITI Electronics, down 8.26%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index reported a substantial decline of 1.91%, closing at 16,327.86.
Key companies such as Lenovo Group, down 10.22%, WuXi Biologics, down 8.45%, and Haidilao International, down 5.86%, were in the red.
In South Korea, the Kospi index saw a 0.82% decrease, closing at 2,494.28, with top losers including Posco Future M, down 7.18%, and NCsoft, down 4.63%.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index decreased by 0.89% to 7,061.60, led lower by Contact Energy, down 10.99%, and Liontown Resources, down 9.19%.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index reported a marginal decline of 0.1%, closing at 11,356.99, with the downside led by Serko, down 4.96%, and Synlait Milk, down 4.84%.
In currency markets, the dollar was last 0.15% weaker on the yen, trading at JPY 146.99.
Conversely, the greenback was stronger on the down under dollars, rising 0.91% on the Aussie to AUD 1.5243, and advancing 0.38% against the Kiwi to change hands at NZD 1.6281.
On the oil front, Brent crude futures were last down 0.15% on ICE at $77.91 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate experienced a marginal decline of 0.14% to $72.94.
Australia holds rates, Tokyo inflation slows, China services expand
On a busy day for economic news in the region, Australia's central bank maintained its benchmark policy rate at 4.35% during its December meeting, aligning with economists' expectations.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, in its statement, noted that the limited information available on the domestic economy since the November meeting was in line with expectations.
In Tokyo, the headline inflation rate for November recorded a rise of 2.6%, marking its slowest increase since July 2022.
That followed October's spike to 3.3%, which had deviated from a downward trend observed since January.
Tokyo's inflation figures are widely considered leading indicators of national trends in Japan.
Core inflation, excluding fresh food prices, stood at 2.3%, slightly lower than Reuters' expectations of 2.4% and down from 2.7% in October.
The 'core-core' inflation rate, which further excludes fuel prices, dipped to 3.6% from 3.8% in October, as monitored by the Bank of Japan.
"Consumer inflation is now cooling again, after the brief oil price-induced surge in October, while the PMIs point to softening economic activity," said Duncan Wrigley at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"The BoJ is unlikely to make a policy change at its December meeting and is increasingly likely to drag its feet on removing negative short-term rates.
"The lagged effect of earlier import cost surges is gradually working its way through the system, while wage growth has yet to gain much ground."
Wrigley said the spring wage round would be a key event to watch.
Business activity in Japan meanwhile contracted for the first time this year, according to fresh data from au Jibun Bank.
November's composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) reading came in at 49.6, down from the earlier flash figure of 50.0 reported last month.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while above 50 signals expansion.
Additionally, Japan's service sector activity softened to 50.8 in November, indicating the weakest growth since November last year.
"Japan is unlikely to recover ahead of the global economy, despite the new fiscal stimulus package," Duncan Wrigley added.
"Real wages are still falling, and cost pressures remain intense, especially for manufacturing, though are easing.
"Both the manufacturing and services PMI indicate a softening Japanese economy going into 2024, raising doubts about businesses' - especially SMEs' - financial capacity to meet wage hike demands."
Elsewhere, South Korea's inflation rate for November slowed to 3.3%, marking its first decline in three months of acceleration.
The figure was below expectations, with a Reuters poll forecasting a moderation to 3.7% from October's 3.8%.
On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index exhibited a steeper decline of 0.6%, surpassing Reuters' poll expectations of 0.15%.
In China, the Caixin/S&P services PMI for November reached its highest level in three months, diverging from Beijing's official PMI reading, which indicated a contraction.
The private survey reading stood at 51.5 in November, up from 50.4 in October and 50.2 in September.
In contrast, China's official non-manufacturing PMI services sub-index for November showed a contraction for the first time since December 2022.
"Services activity is likely to continue to tread sideways over the next few months, in the absence of any catalysts," Pantheon's Duncan Wrigley said.
"Households have proved eager to eat out, go on short trips and consumer leisure services, evident in the buoyant summer domestic tourism season.
"China is promoting foreign tourism, including by offering visa-free entry for people from select countries, but visitor levels have crashed since before the pandemic and are unlikely to pick up rapidly given the soft global economy."
Hong Kong's private sector activity meanwhile expanded for the first time since June, according to S&P Global.
The city's PMI rose to 50.1, just above the 50 mark, with improvements noted in new business and activity gauges.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.