Night view of the Lujiazui financial district in downtown Shanghai.
Yongyuan Dai | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday as investors parse a slew of economic data out of China.
China’s economy expanded by 5% year on year in 2024, with an upswing in the final quarter of the year. The country’s fourth-quarter GDP beat expectations with a 5.4% growth.
China’s retail sales in December jumped 3.7% from a year earlier, exceeding Reuters’ forecast of 3.5%. Industrial output expanded 6.2% from a year earlier, versus expectations of 5.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.33% higher, and mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.44%. The offshore yuan strengthened 0.06% to 7.3419 against the greenback.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day down 0.31% at 38,451.46, while the Topix lost 0.33% to 2,679.42.
South Korea’s Kospi closed fell 0.16% to 2,523.55 while the Kosdaq edged up 0.06% to 724.69.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.2% to close at 8,310.4.
Overnight in the U.S., the major averages gave up gains from earlier in the day with the S&P 500 slipping to end a three-day winning streak as big tech shares pulled back.
The broad market index slid 0.21% to 5,937.34. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.89% to 19,338.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.42 points, or 0.16%, to 43,153.13.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Shares in China Vanke slump after report on CEO’s detention
Shares in China Vanke
— Amala Balakrishner, Reuters
China’s annual GDP growth meets estimates at 5% as stimulus measures kick in
China’s economy expanded by 5% year on year in 2024, with an upswing in the final quarter of the year, as a flurry of stimulus measures kicked in and helped meet Beijing’s growth target.
Fourth-quarter GDP beats expectations with 5.4% growth, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Reuters-polled economists had estimated a 5.0% growth in the final quarter.
That was faster growth compared with the 4.6% in the third quarter, 4.7% in the second quarter, 5.3% in the first quarter.
The full-year economic expansion was lower compared with a 5.4% growth in 2023 post the pandemic. As part of an annual revision to preliminary figures, the statistics bureau in late December revised the 2023 GDP growth to 7.4%, according to a CNBC calculation of the official data.
Read the full story here.
—Evelyn Cheng, Anniek Bao
Nintendo shares fall 6% after company offers limited details about Switch 2 release
Shares of Nintendo fell 6% after more details of its long-awaited Switch 2 console were released.
Nintendo did not give a release date for the console, but said it would reveal more details on April 2. The current Switch, launched in March 2017, is approaching an eight-year lifespan. Typically, console manufacturers release new models after about six to seven years.
The gaming company expects the Switch 2, with a bigger screen and controllers, will help boost console sales.
—Lee Ying Shan, Ryan Browne
Rio Tinto shares slip after report on potential merger with Glencore
Shares of Rio Tinto slipped 1.38% following a report that Rio and Glencore were considering to combine their businesses.
Both mining giants recently engaged in preliminary discussions on a potential merger, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter. It is not confirmed if the talks are still ongoing.
— Lee Ying Shan
China’s economic growth set to meet annual official target: Reuters poll
China’s full-year economic growth is expected to come in at 4.9%, according to a Reuters poll, allowing the government to meet its 2024 growth target of “around 5%.”
China’s economy is tipped to rebound in the fourth quarter, expanding 5% year on year according to Reuters’ forecast. The reading should be a reflection of the slate of stimulus measures introduced since late September to shore up the world’s second largest economy.
Other analysts’ optimism remains muted.
“We expect the data to show that the Chinese economy remains soft and will likely reinforce expectations of policy support, keeping downward pressure on Chinese interest rates and CNH,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note.
— Reuters, Lee Ying Shan
Stocks close lower Thursday
U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.21%. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 68.42 points, or 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.89%.
— Hakyung Kim
Oil headed for fourth straight weekly gain
WTI Crude prices are up around 2.8% week to date, putting it on track for its fourth straight week of gains for the first time since July 1, 2024 and the subsequent four-week win streak.
Brent crude has climbed 1.9% this week and is also on pace for four consecutive weeks higher.
— Hakyung Kim