By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stock were down on Thursday morning, with investors digesting Chinese data that indicates a long road to economic recovery from COVID-19 remains ahead.
There are over 13.5 million cases globally, with deaths approaching the 600,000 mark as of July 17, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
China reported 3.2% growth in its second quarter GDP year-on-year earlier in the day, beating analyst expectations of a 2.5% increase and the first quarter’s contraction of 6.8%. But it also reported a 1.8% drop in retail sales year-on-year, against expectations of a 0.3% growth.
Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and China continue to simmer. U.S. President Donald Trump took a step on Wednesday to diffuse them by privately ruling out further sanctions against Chinese entities responsible for enacting Hong Kong’s national security laws.
Still, China threatened retaliatory sanctions after Trump removed Hong Kong’s special trade privileges and signed an executive order for initial sanctions against the entities on Tuesday.
China’s Shanghai Composite slid1.74% by 11:19 PM ET (4:19 AM GMT) and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.60%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.41%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.75%. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.77%, with the Bank of Korea holding the benchmark interest steady at 0.50% earlier in the day. The central bank is holding off further stimulus measures to aid the economy, with the country struggling to keep a lid on rising property prices.
Down Under the ASX 200 was down 0.80%. The country announced the creation of 210,800 jobs in June, beating analyst expectations of 112,500 jobs. But the re-imposition of lockdowns in parts of the country could see the country head into a recession.