Asian shares tumbled on Friday after China reported weaker-than-expected economic data, stirring up worries about the state of the world’s second largest economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid 1.7 per cent to 21,439.16 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 1.2 per cent to 2,070.70. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.4 per cent at 26,165.88.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7 per cent to 2,616.77. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 shed 0.8 per cent to 5,614.10. Shares were also lower in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, reports AP.
The S&P 500 index was almost flat at 2,650.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 per cent to 24,597.38 while the Nasdaq composite gave up 0.4 per cent to 7,070.33.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks slipped 1.6 per cent to 1,432.70.
Benchmark US crude fell 10 cents to $52.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $52.58 in New York on Thursday.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 34 cents to $61.11 in London.
The dollar weakened to 113.48 yen from 113.63 yen in late trading Thursday. The euro eased to $1.1360 from $1.1361.