China’s Industrial Profits, U.S. Economy and Stocks

Coronavirus pandemic became the biggest problem for the private as well as governmental organizations in different parts of the world. In this situation, it is not surprising that stocks in the Asia Pacific were mixed on Friday.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s industrial profits for January-February fell 38.3% year-on-year. Importantly, the period covered by the data release coincided with strict measures taken by the country’s government to contain the spread of the virus. This period also covers Lunar New Year. However, due to coronavirus pandemic, millions of Chinese citizens had to change their plans.

Another factor that has the capacity to influence the markets is the state of the U.S. economy. Recently, the U.S. Senate approved a historic $2 trillion stimulus bill. The U.S. Congress will vote on this bill on Friday morning and most likely will approve this stimulus bill.

This bill comes at a time when the number of people who filed for jobless claims soared to 3.28 million last week.

Stocks across the Asia Pacific

As can be seen from the information stated-above the two largest economies in the world, suffered significant losses due to the ongoing situation.

It was a turbulent day for stocks in the Asia Pacific on March 27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 5.3% to close at 4,842.40.

However, stocks in Japan and South Korea strengthened their positions. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 3,88% to close at 19,389.43. At the same time, the Topix index gained 4.3% to end its trading day at 1,459.49.

On March 27, South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.87% to close at 1,717.73. Another index, Kosdaq gained 1.2% to 522.83.

Mainland Chinese stocks also were mixed, as the Shanghai composite index saw gains on the day. However, the Shenzhen composite index fell 0.459% to around 1,693.35. In the meantime, the Shanghai composite gained 0.26% to about 2,772.20.