Asian Shares Lower on Japan GDP Data
Baku, November 12 (AZERTAC). Asian markets were mostly lower on Monday as a decline in Japanese GDP offset strong trade data from China.
Japan released its third quarter growth data early Monday, which indicated a 3.5% on quarter contraction in annualized terms for the July to September period. The number was slightly better than the 3.9% contraction expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires, but it added to fears that Asia`s second largest economy could have entered into a recession.
Stocks in Japan were lower, with the Nikkei down 0.5%, while the dollar was little moved against the yen at Y79.55, after retreating 1.2% over the last week.
Chinese trade data, released over the weekend, did offer some positive news -- with a wider-than-expected trade surplus in October. There was however a decline in Chinese imports during the month, most notably in copper.
Europe`s jitters returned, with investors concerned over whether a decision will be made at a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers Monday on whether Greece will receive the next tranche of financial aid. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Die Welt newspaper on Sunday that he did not expect a conclusion to be reached at the meeting.
Australia`s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1%, with corporate news weighing on individual stocks. QBE Insurance Group plunged 10.8% after releasing a profit warning related to Superstorm Sandy; while Oil Search dropped 2.9% due to increasing costs on a natural gas project in Papua New Guinea.
Gold continued to rise in Asia -- up 0.2% to $1,734.20 an ounce on Monday, adding to last week`s 3.4% rise, the commodity`s best week since January. The precious metal is not only benefiting from expectations of further quantitative easing following the re-election of U.S. President Obama, but also physical demand for gold should remain high ahead of Diwali in India -- the peak time for gold purchases in one of the world`s largest gold markets.
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