Japanese stocks fell while other Asian markets won Monday, after Japan reported a record economic contraction as the coronavirus pandemic loomed over retail, investment and exports.
Investors in Asia looked forward to central bank meetings this week in China, Indonesia and the Philippines, with a few other market-moving events in sight.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo NIK,
fell 0.8% after data showed the world’s third-largest economy shrank 27.8% year-on-year in the three months to June. That was greater than the country’s deepest decline during the 2008-09 financial crisis.
The quarterly decline was 7.8%, not quite as sharp as the 9.5% decline for the U.S. economy for the last quarter. But Japan’s economy was already growing very slowly when it fell into recession late last year. And the current delay came without complete shutdowns to control the pandemic.
“The road ahead looks sickening as a resurgence in Covid cases will weigh on domestic and foreign spending,” said Stefan Angrick of Oxford Economics in a report.
The Shanghai SHCOMP Composite Index,
rose 2.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI,
gain 1.3%. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
Sydney’s S & P / ASX 200 XJO,
shoe 0.8%. New Zealand NZ50GR,
, Taiwan Y9999,
and Singapore STI,
advanced.
Wall Street ended last week not much changed.
The benchmark S&P 500 index SPX,
fell less than 0.1% to 3,372.85, close to its record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
gained 0.1% to 27,931.02. The Nasdaq Composite COMP,
dip 0.2% to 11,019.30.
Economists say consumer spending could be under more pressure after government aid, including an additional $ 600 weekly unemployment benefits, expired. Investors are counting on Washington for a different economic lifeline, but lawmakers are far apart over a possible package.
In energy marches, benchmark US crude CLU20,
received 36 cents to $ 42.37 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 23 cents on Friday to settle at $ 42.01. Brent raw BRNV20,
, the standard for international oil prices, added 30 cents to $ 45.10 per barrel in London. It 16 cents the previous session to $ 44.80.
The USDJPY dollar,
declined to 106.55 yen from Friday 106.59 yen.
.
