The skyline of the central business district in Beijing on August 13, 2019. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
WANG ZHAO | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Friday, as investors awaited key economic data from China and assessed Japan’s inflation numbers.
China’s third-quarter GDP is expected to come in at 4.5%, as estimated by economists in a Reuters poll, compared with 4.7% growth in the prior quarter.
China is set to release its house prices index for September at 9:30 a.m. local time.
For September, economists expect a mixed picture in China’s economy, with urban investment estimated to grow 3.3% year on year, slower than 3.4% in the prior month, while retail sales could rise 2.5% on year, faster growth than last month’s 2.1%, according to data from LSEG.
Industrial production is expected to expand 4.5% in September from a year ago.
Japan’s headline inflation for September came in at 2.5%, while core CPI — which excludes fresh food prices — rose 2.4% year on year compared with Reuters estimates of 2.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 0.5% higher while the broad-based Topix rose 0.34%.
South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi was almost flat, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.22%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 19,974, compared with its previous close of 20,079.1.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day down 0.42%.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to a new record close after strong economic data eased lingering fears of a potential recession. The blue-chip index rose 161 points, or 0.37%, to 43,239.05.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.02% to settle at 5,841.47 after hitting an intraday record earlier in the session.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.04% inched higher, as chipmakers rallied, to end at 18,373.61.
All three indexes are tracking for their sixth straight positive week.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
