Asia-Pacific markets largely declined on Friday. JapanÂ’s Nikkei 225 experienced a volatile session, falling 0.29% after initially surpassing the 41,000 mark to hit new record highs. The Topix index also dropped 0.59% from record levels.
Japan’s household spending for May unexpectedly decreased by 1.8% in real terms compared to the previous year, contrary to economists’ expectations of a 0.1% increase. This metric is crucial for the Bank of Japan’s goal of creating a “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices. The average household spent 290,328 yen ($1,799.28), while the average monthly income rose to 500,231 yen, a 6.4% increase in nominal terms and a 3% increase in real terms from the previous year.
In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 1.38%, and the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.91%, making them the only major indexes in Asia to show positive performance. Samsung Electronics projected a nearly 15-fold increase in its second-quarter operating profit due to a rebound in semiconductor prices driven by the artificial intelligence boom, pushing Samsung shares up 2.25% to their highest level since January 2021.
Hong KongÂ’s Hang Seng index fell by 1.09%, mainland ChinaÂ’s CSI300 decreased by 0.96%, and AustraliaÂ’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a slight decline of 0.12%.
In the U.S., markets were closed on Thursday for the Independence Day holiday. However, futures trading was mostly flat ahead of FridayÂ’s session, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1%, S&P 500 futures slightly below the flatline, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures up 0.05%.
The post Friday 5th July 2024: Asian Markets Decline Amid Mixed Economic Signals first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.
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