Last week was full of challenges for the stocks across Asia-Pacific. As a reminder, stocks fell on July 16. Nevertheless, on Friday, stocks mostly saw gains despite U.S.-China tensions.
Mainland Chinese stocks strengthened their positions on July 17. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.13% to about 3,214.13. In the meantime, the Shenzhen Component gained 0.913% to around 13,114.94.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell on Friday.
South Korea’s Kospi index grew by 0.8% to close at 2,201.19.
Nevertheless, stocks in Japan saw losses on the day. The Nikkei 225 dropped by 0.32% to close at 22,696.42. At the same time, the Topix index fell by 0.33% to end its trading day at 1,573.85.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.38% to close at 6,033.60.
Jobless claims data, stocks and tension
As mentioned earlier, last week was full of challenges. For example, on Thursday, mainland Chinese stocks suffered losses.
Also, the U.S. jobless claims data missed expectations.
Based on the information provided by the Labor Department, the initial jobless claims figure reached 1.3 million for the week that ended on July 11. Interestingly, economists expected the data to reach 1.25 million.
Moreover, tensions between U.S.-China represent a serious challenge for the global economy. Tensions between the U.S. and China have the potential to affect investor sentiment.
This is not the end of the story, as according to a source familiar with this topic, the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is considering banning travel to the country, to all members of the Chinese Communist Party as well as their family members.
It is not a secret that tensions between the economic superpowers started a long time ago. Nevertheless, the coronavirus crisis highlighted the importance of such disagreements. However, both countries should work together to de-escalate the situation. Otherwise, it will be tough to get the global economy back on track.
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