Asian Stocks Retreat Amid Renewed Fed Fears

Asian stocks finished mostly lower on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s overnight losses amid fresh concerns over a hawkish interest rate decision by the Fed next week. The weakness came despite an unexpected jump in Chinese industrial output.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 73.52 points or 2.3 percent to finish at 3,126.40. The day’s trading ranged between 3,126.40 and 3,191.83. The Shenzhen Component Index also lost 2.3 percent to close at 11,261.50.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index shed 308.26 points or 1.1 percent to end trading at 27,567.65. The day’s trading range was between 27,525.68 and 27,654.99.

Fukuoka Financial Group was the biggest gainer with a 4.3 percent surge. Resona Holdings and Shizuoka Bank both added more than 3 percent. Chiba Bank as well as Kansai Electric Power Co. also gained more than 2 percent.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha was the biggest loser with a decline of more than 5 percent. Nippon Express Co., Trend Micro, Tokyo Electron, and IHI Corp. all declined more than 4 percent.

The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange slumped 168.69 points or 0.9 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 18,761.69. The day’s trading range was between a high of 18,905.28 and a low of 18,678.22.

The Korean Stock Exchange’s Kospi Index lost 19.05 points or 0.8 percent to close trading at 2,382.78. The day’s trading range was between 2,371.11 and 2,395.10.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 6,739.10 after losing 103.80 points or 1.5 percent. The day’s trading was between 6,736.30 and 6,842.90.

Star Entertainment Group topped the gainers charts with a 5.1 percent rally. Computershare and gambling business Tabcorp Holdings both gained more than 4 percent. Platinum Asset Management strengthened 3.6 percent, followed by Reliance Worldwide Corporation, which added 2.5 percent.

Resolute Mining plunged more than 15 percent, and Atlas Arteria dropped close to 10 percent. Gold Road Resources and St Barbara declined more than 8 percent whereas Silver Lake Resources declined more than 6 percent.

The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange shed 78.48 points or 0.7 percent to close at 11,580.46. Trading ranged between 11,580.46 and 11,667.28.

Air New Zealand was the top gainer with a 3.7 percent rally. EROAD and KMD Brands also rallied more than 3 percent. Stride Property and Sanford followed with gains in excess of 2 percent.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand declined 6 percent in the day’s trading. Mainfreight followed with a loss of more than 3 percent. Medical instruments business Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, NZX and Sky Network Television all declined more than 2 percent.

Wall Street had closed with losses on Thursday amid strong retail sales numbers. Markets perceive the unexpected 0.3 percent growth in retail sales versus the 0.4 percent decline in the previous month as increasing the headroom available for the Fed to step up its fight against inflation.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4 percent to close at 11,552.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.6 percent to end at 30,961.82.

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