The skyline of Beijing’s central business district on August 13, 2019.
Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Friday as investors awaited key economic data from China and assessed inflation data from Japan.
According to economists surveyed by Reuters, China’s third-quarter GDP is expected to grow by 4.5%, compared with 4.7% in the previous quarter.
China’s housing prices fell by 5.8% year-on-year in September, which was greater than the 5.3% decline in August.
Economists expect China’s economic situation to be mixed in September. Urban investment is expected to increase by 3.3% annually, down from 3.4% last month, while retail sales may increase by 2.5% annually, up from 2.1% last month, according to LSEG data .
Industrial production is expected to increase by 4.5% year-on-year in September.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index opened flat. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.1% in early trading.
Japanese Overall inflation in September Core CPI (excluding fresh food prices) is 2.5% — The annual growth rate was 2.4%, compared with Reuters forecast of 2.3%.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index Shares rose 0.2%, while the Topix gained 0.3%.
South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi index fell 0.2% and the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 1.2%.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index down 0.7%.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a new closing record after strong economic data eased concerns about a potential recession. The blue chip index rose 161 points, or 0.37%, to 43,239.05 points.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.02% at 5,841.47 points, having previously set a new intraday high.
As chipmakers rebounded, the Nasdaq rose 0.04% to close at 18,373.61 points.
All three indexes posted gains for a sixth straight week.
—CNBC Lisa Kelly Han and Ha Kyung Kim contributed to this report.
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