Most Asian markets ended lower Friday as a slowdown in China’s July exports and imports dragged on sentiment and led investors to lock in profits before the weekend, with Li & Fung Ltd. and some other stocks also hurt by weak earnings reports.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index dropped 87.16 points, or 1%, to 8,891.44
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong docked 133.35 points, or 0.7%, to 20,136.12
The broad declines reflected heightened worries about China’s economic growth outlook, after July data showed China’s trade surplus narrowed during the month as growth rates for both exports and imports fell below estimates.
Regional markets ended the week with a positive return, however.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.3%, Japan’s Nikkei climbed 3.9% and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 3.1% during the week, and were followed by the Hang Seng Index, Shanghai Composite and S&P/ASX 200 indexes, with an increase of 2.4%, 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
Li & Fung Ltd. plunged 19.3% in Hong Kong after the logistics firm posted a 33% rise in first-half net profit but said its core operating profit dropped 22%.
Japan’s Olympus Corp. slid 1.5% after the company late Thursday reported a more-than-threefold widening of its quarterly net loss and said it was seeking a partner to help shore up its finances.
Trend Micro Inc. tumbled 9.1% after the technology services firm reported second-quarter earnings which missed estimates widely, according to CNBC.
In the banking sector, Japan’s top bank by assets Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. lost 1.9% after a Nikkei news report that one of its employees is under suspicion of manipulating the yen-quoted London interbank offered rate.
Among Hong Kong blue-chips, Internet firm Tencent Holdings Ltd. lost 2.8% ahead of its earnings due next week.
Casino operator Sands China Ltd. declined 3.3%, giving up some recent gains. The stock is still up 4.2% this week.
JX Holdings Inc. added 1.5% in Tokyo after Credit Suisse hiked its rating on the stock to outperform from neutral.
CHINA
China's trade surplus unexpected narrowed in July as exports barely grew from the year-earlier month and imports increased at a smaller rate, according to data released Friday.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index retreated 11.95 points, or 0.5%, to 2,399.75
The trade surplus for the month dropped to $25.1 billion U.S. from $31.7 billion U.S. in June, falling way short of estimates for a surplus of $35.2 billion U.S. in a survey of economists.
Exports rose just 1% from the year-ago period, while imports expanded 4.7%, compared to expectations for an 8% rise in exports and a 7% rise in imports. In June, China's exports rose 11.3%, while imports increased 6.3%.
In other markets
Taiwan’s Taiex Index advanced 7.42 points, or 0.1%, to 7,441.12
Singapore’s Straits Times Index returned from holiday to gain 1.95 points, or 0.1%, to 3,054.20
Korea’s Kospi Index added 5.81 points, or 0.3%, to 1,946.40
New Zealand’s NZX index fell 5.82 points, or 0.2%, to 3,577.80
Australia’s ASX Index shed 30.97 points, or 0.7%, to 4,277.30
