TOKYO/HONG KONG/SHANGHAI/SYDNEY (dpa-AFX) – The most important Asian stock markets again did not take a consistent direction on Wednesday. Once again, Japanese stocks stood out with gains while Chinese bourses faltered.
The Japanese stock market benefited from strong economic data. “Japan’s economy grew by 1.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter,” said the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg. This clearly exceeded market expectations. The leading Japanese index Nikkei 225 rose by 0.84 percent to 30,093.59 points. It passed the 30,000 point mark for the first time since September 2021.
On the other hand, the ongoing discussions about the US debt ceiling dampened the willingness to buy on many other Asian exchanges, as the market strategists at Deutsche Bank noted. In China, there were even losses. Surprisingly low growth in industrial production and consumer spending had underlined the bumpy economic recovery in the world’s second largest economy on the previous day.
The CSI 300 index (CSI 300) with the 300 most important values of the exchanges in Shenzhen and Shanghai lost half a percent to 3960 points. The Hang Seng Index (Hang Seng) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region recently fell by 2.1 percent to 19,570 points.
Australian equities also weakened. The leading index S&P ASX 200 lost half a percent to 7199 points./mf/mis