August 15, 2016 – Tokyo stocks fell today after hitting their highest levels for over two months in the previous session, as figures showed Japan’s economy stalled in the second quarter.
But Chinese shares closed up solidly, spurred by hopes the government would soon launch a scheme to link trading on the Shenzhen exchange with the Hong Kong bourse.
Sydney, Wellington and Kuala Lumpur also saw gains, even after weak economic data from the eurozone and US on Friday left on European and Wall Street stocks under pressure.
The oil price continued to climb – trading above US$44 a barrel in Asia on hopes crude producers would agree to freeze output at a meeting next month and ease a stubborn global supply glut.
In Japan, data showed growth in the world’s third largest economy was flat at 0.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter, missing economists’ predictions for a 0.2 per cent expansion in the April-June period as weak exports and a fall in business spending held back activity.
“Today’s data are quite disappointing,” said Junko Nishioka, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
“The situation is becoming tougher and tougher. There is the rally in the yen and worries about Japan’s prospects in overseas markets. And so companies are becoming more pessimistic about making investments.”
By the close Tokyo’s index had slipped 0.3 per cent despite finishing at its highest level since early June on Friday. However, embattled electronics maker Sharp bucked the trend, surging 10.4 per cent on news it had completed a deal to be acquired by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision, known as Foxconn.