Asian Shares Mixed As China GDP Data Disappoints

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as China's GDP data disappointed and the dollar firmed up on bets that Donald Trump will win the upcoming presidential election after an assassination attempt on his life Saturday.

Gold fell toward $2,400 per ounce in Asian trade while oil prices were largely unchanged.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended a choppy session marginally higher at 2,974.01 as the country's central bank left the medium-term lending facility rate unchanged and data showed China's economic recovery lost steam in Q2, piling pressure on Beijing to make a major economic stimulus announcement at a twice-a-decade policy meeting.

China's GDP expanded 4.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 5.1 percent and down from 5.3 percent in the three months prior.

Industrial output growth for June beat forecasts but retail sales lagged estimates and fixed asset investment figures matched expectations.

House prices were down 4.5 percent from last year after slumping 3.9 percent in May. The jobless rate came in at 5.0 percent, matching expectations and unchanged.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.52 percent to 18,015.94 as China's third plenum kicked off to set economic strategy for the coming decade.

Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

Seoul stocks edged up slightly ahead of a busy week, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech, U.S. retail sales figures and Eurozone inflation data awaited. The Kospi average closed 0.14 percent higher at 2,860.92.

Australian markets rose notably to hit record highs, with banks and miners leading the surge after a strong finish on Wall Street Friday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.73 percent to 8,017.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.69 percent at 8,262.40.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished marginally lower at 12,123.14 after a choppy session.

A survey showed earlier in the day that the services sector in New Zealand continued to contract in June, and at a faster pace.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as large-cap stocks rebounded from steep losses in the previous session on expectations of Fed rate cuts.

Investors shrugged off data that showed U.S. producer prices increased slightly more than expected in June amid a rise in the cost of services.

The three major U.S. averages rose about 0.6 percent each even as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup all fell after releasing their quarterly earnings results.