Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks turned in another mixed performance on Friday as concerns surrounding an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump and weak data from China offset renewed U.S.-China trade talk optimism.
Meanwhile, there were reports that Washington is unlikely to extend a waiver allowing American firms to supply China’s Huawei Technologies.
Chinese shares recovered from an early slide to finish higher even as data showed the country’s industrial profits contracted in August after a brief recovery in July.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index Inched up 3.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,932.17, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 87.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,954.81.
China’s industrial profits declined in August as trade disputes with the United States weighed on the corporate sector, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed.
Industrial profits decreased 2 percent year-on-year, in contrast to July’s 2.6 percent increase. During the January to August period, industrial profits declined 1.7 percent annually, the same rate of decline as seen in the first seven months of 2019.
Japanese shares fell by the most in almost five weeks as overnight data showed slower U.S. economic growth and Kansai Electric President Shigeki Iwane said he and 19 company employees, including other executives, received payments and gifts worth 320 million yen ($3 million) from an outside individual.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 169.34 points, or 0.8 percent, to 21,878.90. For the week, the benchmark index declined 0.9 percent, marking the biggest weekly decline since August 16. The broader Topix closed 1.2 percent lower at 1,604.25.
Kansai Electric shares plunged 5.7 percent. Apple Inc. supplier Japan Display slumped 10.5 percent after Chinese investment firm Harvest Group withdrew from a bailout of the cash-strapped smartphone screen maker.
On the data front, overall consumer prices in Tokyo were up just 0.4 percent year-on-year in September, a government report showed. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent and down from 0.6 percent in August.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, rose an annual 0.5 percent – also missing forecasts for 0.6 percent and down from 0.7 percent in the previous month.
Australian markets advanced amid easing trade war concerns. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 38.50 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,716.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 38.50 points, or 0.6 percent, at 6,824.10.
Firmer oil prices boosted energy stocks, with Woodside Petroleum and Santos rising around 1 percent. Origin Energy shares jumped 2.6 percent. Lender ANZ rallied 1 percent and Commonwealth rose 0.4 percent.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto rose 0.9 percent and half a percent, respectively, while smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group jumped 2.3 percent.
Gold miners Evolution, Northern Star and Newcrest fell 1-2 percent as gold remained on track for a third weekly drop in four.
Seoul stocks tumbled as investors fretted over the outlook for the chip sector and political uncertainty in the United Sates. The Kospi ended down 24.59 points, or 1.2 percent, at 2,049.93. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics shed 1.6 percent and chipmaker SK Hynix lost 2.3 percent.
