Market Update
Asian markets slipped Monday as investors reacted to weak Chinese growth data.
Official reports released today showed China's gross domestic product grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, as compared with 7.8% in the third quarter.
Industrial production grew 9.7% year-on-year in December, which came in lower than the forecast of 9.8%. Retail sales, on the other hand, grew 13.6% in December from a year ago, in line with expectations.
Among the regional indexes, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4% on the mainland while the Hang Seng slipped 0.5%.
The Nikkei was down 0.5% too in Tokyo while Australia's All Ordinaries gave up 0.2%.
Mumbai's BSE Sensex was little changed, down 0.1% at 9:51 a.m. IST.
Stocks on the Move
Exporters in Tokyo were among the top laggards -- Konami Corp. dropped 3.5% while Olympus Corp. lost 2.7%.
Sharp Corp. was trading down 1% while Panasonic Corp. retreated 1.2%.
Nintendo Co. plunged over 9% after the game console maker posted a lower sales forecast and said it would post an operating loss for the fiscal year ending March.
Retailers were also among the losers. Fast Retailing erased 1.6% and Yamada Denki Co. lost 1%.
On the other side, shipping companies moved against the tide. Kawasaki Kishen K. was up 3.4% while Mitsui O.S.K. Lines added 1%.
Among others, Ajinomoto Co. bounced 5.5% after a ratings upgrade.
Financial firms in Hong Kong lost ground. ICBC dropped 1.6% while Ping An Insurance slipped 1.3%.
Exporters added to the losses. Esprit Holdings fell 2.6% while Belle International Holdings erased 0.2%.
Resources stocks, however, were on the upside. CNOOC added 1.3% while PetroChina climbed 0.3%.
Gold miner Zijin Mining rose 2.4% tracking the uptick in bullion prices on the commodity exchange.
Sydney-listed NewCrest Mining jumped 5.5% while Perseus Mining Ltd. soared 13.5% too.
Among other miners, BHP Billiton edged up 0.3% while Rio Tinto added 0.3%.
Paladin Energy rose 1% after the company said it would sell a 25% stake in its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia to a unit of state-owned China National Nuclear Corp. for $190 million.
Technology stocks in Mumbai moved higher. Wipro gained 3.8% following upbeat results declared on Friday, TCS enhanced 2.6% while Infosys edged up 0.3%.
Auto firms and banks were among other pacers -- Tata Motors accelerated 1.5%, Mahindra & Mahindra added 1.4%.
HDFC Bank improved 0.9% while ICICI Bank was up 0.5%.
On the flip-side, Reliance Industries moved down 1.4% after posting quarterly results.