Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index
jumped nearly 3% in its final hour of trade, after china vowed “more proactive” fiscal measures and “moderately” looser monetary policy next year to boost domestic consumption.
The announcement came from an official readout of a key policy meeting that outlined upcoming economic priorities.
Prior to the news, mainland China’s CSI 300 index fell 0.17% to close at 3,966.57 after China’s consumer price growth came in below expectations in November.
CPI rose 0.2% year on year, down from a 0.3% increase in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Economists from Reuters forecast price growth of 0.5%.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, markets were mixed as traders assessed revised economic growth data from Japan and South Korea’s political situation.
South Korea’s Kospi stock index fell after President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote over the weekend as the fallout from his brief declaration of martial law continues to roil the country.
The benchmark index fell 2.78% to 2,360.58, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 5.19% to 627.01 as investors continued to monitor the country’s political situation.
While Yoon’s People Power Party boycotted the Saturday impeachment vote brought by opposition parties, its leader has said that Yoon would step down.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in the country have named President Yoon as a subject in a criminal investigation for potential charges of treason and abuse of power, according to local media reports.
Japan’s Nikkei 225
climbed 0.18% to end the trading day at 39,160.5, while the Topix gained 0.27% to 2,734.56. The country’s third-quarter gross domestic product was revised to 0.3% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, up from 0.2% and above estimates from a Reuters poll that predicted no change.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended marginally higher at 8,423.
In the U.S. on Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records after November jobs data came in slightly better than expected, but not so hot as to deter the Federal Reserve from cutting rates again later this month.
The broad market S&P 500 climbed 0.25% to 6,090.27. Tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.81% to 19,859.77, bolstered by gains in Tesla, Meta Platforms and Amazon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 123.19 points, or 0.28%, to close at 44,642.52.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq went on to their third straight positive week as well, rising 0.96% and 3.34%, respectively. The Dow slipped 0.6% during the period.
China vows ‘more active’ fiscal stimulus measures, ‘moderately’ looser monetary policy
China’s leaders on Monday pledged “more proactive” fiscal measures and “moderately” looser monetary policy next year to boost domestic consumption, according to an official readout of a key policy meeting that outlined upcoming economic priorities.
The Politburo, a top decision-making body led by President Xi Jinping, said it will stabilize property and stock markets while strengthening the “unconventional counter-cyclical” adjustment, the Communist Party’s CNBC-translated readout said.Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University, says China needs more targeted and substantial fiscal stimulus measures, accompanied by confidence-building measures from the government.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia,” the economist said China’s weak consumer inflation data released on Monday was “not surprising, but certainly disappointing.”
“This certainly gives the government a very important indication that the stimulus measures that have been put in place so far are not delivering the goods in terms of bolstering growth and bolstering private sector confidence,” he said.
He added that to get the economy back on track, the government will need to propose additional stimulus and confidence-building measures at its annual central economic work conference this week.