Asian markets witnessed mixed results at the close of trading on Friday, June 27, the closing session of the week. Japanese indices rose, with the Nikkei index recording its highest closing level since January and its best weekly performance since September of last year. Chinese markets declined after figures showed a decline in profits for Chinese industrial companies.
Figures released this morning by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that profits for Chinese industrial companies declined by 9.1% year-on-year in the first five months of the year, the largest decline since October of last year. Accumulated profits for major industrial companies also declined by 1.1% in the first five months of the year. On the other hand, in Japan, core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food costs, slowed for the first time in four months, according to figures released this morning, to 3.1% in June, following a 3.6% increase in May, below expectations. The core inflation index, which excludes food and fuel prices, rose to 3.1% in June, compared to 3.3% in May.
Retail sales in Japan grew 2.2% year-on-year in May, compared to 3.5% growth in April, below expectations, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released this morning. This marked the slowest growth rate since February, bringing total sales to 50 trillion yen, while sales declined 0.2% month-on-month in May. The Nikkei index closed at 40,150, up 1.43%, or 566 points, surpassing the 40,000 mark for the first time since January. The index posted weekly gains of 4.55%, while the Topix index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 1.28% today, closing at 2,840, recording weekly gains of 2.5%. Yokohama Rubber Disco led the Nikkei’s gains with gains of more than 7%.
Chinese indices recorded declines in today’s closing session, with the broader Chinese CSI300 index falling 0.61% today, closing at 3,921 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index of the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed down 0.70% at 3,424. The Hang Seng Index, the main index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, fell by approximately 0.17% today, closing at 24,284 points, with China Life Insurance leading the declines, with losses of more than 2.5%.
Conversely, the South Korean Kospi index fell by approximately 0.77% today, closing at 3,055 points.
India’s Sensex index rose by approximately 0.29% before the close, trading at 83,999 points, while the Nifty 50 index rose by approximately 0.32%, trading at 25,631 points.
Australian stock markets closed lower today, with the Australian ASX 200 index falling by approximately 0.43% at the close of the session at 8,514 points, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 index rose by approximately 0.83%, closing at 12,583 points. Singapore’s main index rose by 0.46% in pre-closing trading.