Asia-Pacific Stocks Trade Lower Ahead of July Economic Data Releases

On Wall Street, major stock indexes rose on Thursday evening after the Labour Department reported that jobless claims were at their lowest level since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Asia-Pacific stocks mostly were lower on Friday morning, according to CNBC News.

In China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.56 percent, while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.648 percent in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also slid 0.55 percent. Investors are awaiting the release of China’s trade figures for July on Friday, closely watching the country’s export sector.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.19 percent, while the Topix index gained 0.21 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi also added 0.3 percent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.34 percent.

Overall in the region, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan traded 0.34 percent lower.

Meanwhile, in the United States, stocks rose ahead of the release of the July jobs report on Friday morning. For the week ending 1 August, the Labour Department reported 1.186 million initial jobless claims, which is lower than the 1.423 million estimated by Dow Jones and the lowest numbers since the coronavirus pandemic started.

Sourse: sputniknews.com