- The weaker global demand affected China’s commerce in August.
- China stated that exports fell by 8.8% in August compared to a year earlier.
- With Apple plummeting 3.6% and Nvidia down 3.1%, large technology firms were among the biggest market drags.
The weaker global demand that affected China’s commerce in August and put more strain on its economy caused shares in Asia to decline on Thursday. Additionally, the benchmark in Hong Kong sank more than 1%, along with most other significant regional markets, and so did oil prices and U.S. futures.
China stated that exports fell by 8.8% in August compared to a year earlier, while imports fell by 7.3%. The decreases were better than most predictions and were lower than the double-digit drops in July.
Asian stocks
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.9% of its value to 3,130.70 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.2% to 18,235.40. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo dropped 0.8% to 32,991.08. The Kospi fell 0.7% to 2,544.40 in Seoul, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 1.2% to 7,174.00.
The S&P 500 sank by 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.6% to 34,443.19, and the Nasdaq fell by 1.1% to 13,872.47, all of which were regional markets. With Apple plummeting 3.6% and Nvidia down 3.1%, large technology firms were among the biggest market drags.
However, several businesses made significant changes after reporting results and other updates, such as AeroVironment, which increased by 20.7%, and Roku, which increased by 2.9% following an upbeat financial update and the announcement that it will lay off 10% of its workers.
Inflation and interest rates, which the Fed has raised in a bid to lower prices, continue to be the key economic themes. Since inflation has been declining for months, investors have been hoping that the Fed will eventually limit future interest rate rises.
Following statistics showing the U.S. services industry is still strong, Treasury yields increased, which contributed to the most recent decline in stock prices.
Wall Street anticipates the Fed to maintain its benchmark interest rate at its upcoming meeting later in September, especially in light of recent economic reports on consumer confidence, employment, and inflation.
