Asian markets mixed as China reports encouraging economic growth

Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, after Wall Street rebounded from a rough week and China indicated its economic recovery sped up last month. Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.44%   fell 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index HSI, +0.43%   rose 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.51% […]

Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, after Wall Street rebounded from a rough week and China indicated its economic recovery sped up last month.

Japan’s Nikkei 225
NIK,
-0.44%

  fell 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index
HSI,
+0.43%

  rose 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP,
+0.51%

  advanced 0.3% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite
399106,
+0.74%

  gained 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi
180721,
+0.64%

  rose 0.6% while benchmark indexes in Taiwan
Y9999,
+0.45%

 , Singapore
STI,
+0.18%

  and Indonesia
JAKIDX,
-1.08%

  were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
-0.08%

  was flat.

China reported Tuesday that retail sales returned to growth in August for the first time in 2020, rising 0.5% year over year. Industrial production also rose 5.6%, up from the previous month and topping analysts’ estimates.

“The activity data is about as strong a signal one could expect and will continue to support the steady economic growth recovery,” Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, wrote in a note. “Assuming that COVID -19 remains under control in China, it should be safe to say activities will recover further amid supportive policies paving the way for a continuing and convincing growth rebound.”

Investors are also awaiting economic projections from the U.S. Federal Reserve at its policy meeting on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+1.18%

  rose 327.69 points, or 1.2%, to finish at 27,993.33, after briefly trading above the 28,000 threshold. The S&P 500
SPX,
+1.27%

  added 42.57 points, or 1.3%, closing at 3,383.54. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+1.87%

  climbed 203.11 points, or 1.7%, to end at 11,056.65, snapping a two-session losing streak.

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