Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly higher note with South Korea’s Kospi (+4.4%) continuing this week’s rebound off a three-month low.
—Equity Markets—
Japan’s Nikkei: +0.5%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng: +1.3%
China’s Shanghai Composite: +0.3%
India’s Sensex: -0.5%
South Korea’s Kospi: +4.4%
Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries: +0.2%
The FCC voted to prohibit sales of devices in the U.S. that include hardware from certain Chinese companies.
Japan
There was some speculation that the Bank of Japan could accelerate the pace of its rate hikes to counter inflation risks.
The Japanese yen has dropped to a fresh 2026 low against the dollar, hitting a level not seen since late 1986.
China
June FDI -5.0% YTD (last -8.6%)
South Korea
flash Q2 GDP 0.6% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; last 1.8%); 3.7% yr/yr (expected 3.5%; last 3.8%)
Australia
Australia reported strong employment figures for June, though the market does not expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to hike rates at its next meeting.
June Employment Change 76,300 (expected 16,400; last 44,000) and full employment change 29,300 (last 7,200).
June Unemployment Rate 4.4%, as expected (last 4.4%) and Participation Rate 67.0% (expected 66.7%; last 66.7%)
Singapore
June CPI 0.0% m/m (last 0.7%); 1.9% yr/yr (expected 2.0%; last 1.8%).
June Core CPI 1.6% yr/yr, as expected (last 1.4%)