Drone view of Shanghai skyline at sunrise.
Aerial Perspective Image | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets took a breather after rising in the previous session as investors awaited key Chinese data to assess the state of the world’s second-largest economy.
Chinese data, including new house prices, urban unemployment and retail sales figures for April, will be released later in the day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a two-day state visit to China, told a news conference that the discussions were “warm and comradely” and showed the importance of the relationship between the two countries.
Singapore will also release non-oil domestic export data for April, with NODX expected to drop 10% year-on-year.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index It opened down 0.78%, while the Topix fell 0.33%.
Korean Cospi The country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.8% in April, and the Kosdak index fell 0.11%, while the small-cap Kosdak index fell 1.66%.
In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 Index It opened down 0.49%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were quoted at 19,562 points, opening stronger compared with the Hang Seng Index’s closing point of 19,376.53 points.
Overnight in America, Dow Jones Industrial Average It briefly exceeded 40,000 points for the first time and then closed slightly lower.
The blue chip index hit a maximum of 40,051.05 points. The index was close to the 40,000 mark earlier this year, but retreated slightly in April amid concerns about higher interest rates.
During the meeting, S&P 500 Index It also set a new record after closing above 5,300 points for the first time on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also hit a record high.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.1% at 39,869.38 points.this S&P 500 Index fell 0.21%, while Nasdaq Index It closed down 0.26% on the day.
—CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
About The Author
