Stock Market Today: Asian Shares Fall as China Reports Weaker Global Demand Hit Its Trade in August
U.S. News & World Report Shares slipped Thursday in Asia as China reported weaker global demand hit its trade in August, adding to pressures on its economy.
Oil prices and U.S. futures also fell.
Hong Kongs benchmark fell more than 1% and most other major regional markets also declined.
China said its exports fell 8.8% in August from a year earlier, while imports were down 7.3%. The declines were smaller than the double-digit drops in July, however, and were better than most forecasts.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which has yoyoed this week on news about Chinese policy changes for the property sector, declined on selling of tech shares. It fell 1.2% to 18,235.40.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.9% to 3,130.70, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.8% to 32,991.08.
In Seoul, the Kospi sank 0.7% to 2,544.40. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was off 1.2% at 7,174.00.
Shares in most other regional markets fell.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, closing at 4,465.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.6% to 34,443.19, and the Nasdaq gave back 1.1% to 13,872.47.
