Asian stock indexes largely declined during Friday's trading, with most indexes falling by 0.34%-1.49%. However, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite increased by 0.58% and 1.21% respectively. The Hang Seng Index retreated by 0.34%, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.47%, while the KOSPI and the Nikkei 225 decreased by 1.49%.
Asian markets have followed US indexes, which slumped yesterday due to negative inflation outlooks. Experts predicted that inflation would reach 8.3% in May, matching April's CPI data. Furthermore, China has reimposed COVID-19 restrictions due to an upsurge in coronavirus infections. Entertainment venues in Beijing have been closed, while authorities in Shanghai conduct new mass COVID-19 testing. However, Chinese inflation data have brought optimism to market players. Year-over-year, inflation in China remained unchanged at 2.1%. Economists predicted an increase to 2.2%. Month-on-month, inflation slowed down by 0.2%, falling short of a 0.3% decrease predicted by experts. Chinese indexes also found support in rising share prices in industrial and commodity sectors. The optimism of market players has been fuelled by relaxation of quarantine measures and the Chinese government's economic stimulus plans. The top performing stocks were Great Wall Motor (+2.8%), SAIC Motor (+1.8%), Guangzhou Auto (+2.7%), and Contemporary Amperex Technology CATL (+3.2%). Among companies in the commodity sector, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt increased by 2.4%, China Coal Energy rose by 2.8%, and Cnooc gained 2.2%.
On the Hang Seng Index, Baidu Inc. and Kuaishou Technology lost 3.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Shares of Bilibili dropped by 8.2% after the company's losses more than doubled over the previous quarter. Furthermore, Bilibili released a negative forecast for Q2 2022. According to the latest statistical data, Japan's PPI increased by 9.1% y/y in May, down from the revised rate of 10% in April and below the forecasted 9.8% increase. On the Nikkei 225, SoftBank Group lost 1.8%, Tokyo Electron fell by 2.9%, Keyence decreased by 2.2%, and Advantest dropped by 3.9%. The KOSPI was pushed down by falling share prices of airlines and electronics manufacturers. Asiana Airlines, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix decreased by 2.7%, 2.2%, and 2.8%, respectively.Australian equities also slid down, with BHP Group shedding 0.2%, Fortescue Metals losing 0.8%, and Santos, Ltd. declining by 0.9%. Woodside Energy and Rio Tinto decreased by 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
