Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as China reported its second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 plummeted 329.40 points, or 1.2%, to 28,279.09.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.79 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels above 110.4 seen against the greenback earlier in the week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng regained 208.81 points, or 0.8%, to 27,996.27.
The Bank of Korea announced Thursday its decision to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, in line with expectations by analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Following that announcement, the South Korean won traded at 1,140.08 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 1,148 seen against the greenback yesterday.
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in June, the country’s Bureau of Statistics announced Thursday. That was less than an expected 5.0% in a Reuters poll, and was also a drop from the 5.1% jobless rate in May.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7477 following its bounce yesterday from around $0.744.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 68.38 points, or 1.4%, to 5,151.46.
China’s GDP rose 7.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, official data showed Thursday. That was lower than expectations by economists in a Reuters poll for a 8.1% rise.
Meanwhile, retail sales in June jumped 12.1% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed — above analyst expectations for a 11% increase, according to Reuters.
Chinese industrial output rose 8.3% year-on-year in June, against expectations by analysts in a Reuters poll for a 7.8% increase.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index ditched 13.71 points, or 0.4%, to 3,139.98
The Kospi index in Korea recovered 21.41 points, or 0.7%, to 3,286.22.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index restocked 188.44 points, or 1.1%, to 18,034.19
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 swooned 48.52 points, or 0.4%, to 12,671.16
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost 18.78 points, or 0.3%, to 7,335.92.
