Stock market today: Asian shares mostly fall despite solid signs of U.S. growth
ABC News
Asian shares are mostly lower despite upbeat news on the U.S. economy, with Japan’s benchmark falling after the latest data showed inflation has been slowing faster than expected
TOKYO -- Asian shares were mostly lower on Friday despite upbeat news on the U.S. economy, with Japan's benchmark falling after the latest data showed inflation has been slowing faster than expected.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 1.3% to finish at 35,751.07 as a key measure of inflation slowed faster than expected in January, to 1.6% from 2.4% in December. Weaker price increases relieve pressure on the Bank of Japan to tighten its ultra-lax monetary policy, which has pumped massive amounts of cash into markets. The central bank is targeting 2% inflation.
“The BOJ will wait to gauge the underlying trend of the inflation path for the next few months. We expect inflation to rebound above 2% in February,” Robert Carnell, regional head of research Asia-Pacific at ING, said in a report.
Chinese markets ended a winning streak following a spate of moves by the government to shore up share prices and the property sector.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.6% to 15,954.86, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, up 0.1% at 2,910.22.
