Asian shares trading mixed as China reports growth slowed

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday, taking their cues from a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street.

China reported its economy expanded at a 7.9% annual rate in the last quarter, down from 18.3% in January-March in a leveling off of its relatively early recovery from the pandemic.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.2% to finish at 28,279.09. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 7,335.90. South Korea's Kospi added 0.5% to 3,282.35. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.1% to 28,082.00, while the Shanghai Composite rose nearly 1.0% to 3,563.20.

Reaction to China's latest data was muted, said Harpreet Bhal of ActivTrades.

“Investors will be watching the dynamics of the narrative around China’s monetary and fiscal easing as worries around H2 growth materialize after a possible pick-up in global activity in the first half of this year," Bhal said in a commentary.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 eked out a 0.1% gain, to 4,374.30, after recovering from an early stumble and then losing much of its momentum by late afternoon, as a rally in technology stocks was kept in check by a slide in banks and energy companies. The benchmark index recovered some of its losses from a day earlier, but finished just short of its all-time high set on Monday.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%, to 14,644.95, despite gains by several big tech companies including Apple. Small company stocks continued to lag the broader market.

Investors had a mixed reaction to a new batch of earnings news from banks, airlines and other companies, as well as the latest report showing another rise in inflation. They also kept an eye on the latest comments on inflation from the Federal Reserve chair, who reaffirmed the Fed's view that the surge in costs across the economy is temporary.

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