Japan's overall and core consumer price inflation accelerated, adding more urgency to lifting rates at the next policy meeting of the Bank of Japan. For the week, benchmark stock indexes fell 2%.
China and Hong Kong indexes closed down after policymakers failed to provide implementation plans for the previously announced fiscal stimulus plans. The People's Bank of China held its loan prime rates steady, as widely anticipated.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority lowered its key rate by 25 basis points, reflecting the rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Property developers and retail stocks faced another wave of selling.
Investors in Tokyo stayed on the sidelines ahead of rate decisions by the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve. The yen remained in focus as the rate spread between the U.S. Treasury notes and Japanese bonds is expected to shrink in 2025.
Domestic investors in China and Hong Kong held out for details on the previously announced fiscal reforms. Benchmark indexes in China and Hong Kong are expected to resume their downward slide as policymakers struggle to finalize concrete steps to revive consumer confidence.
Stock market indexes in China and Hong Kong continue to lose momentum as China's leadership and bureaucracy show little urgency in implementing previously announced fiscal measures.
China's retail sales growth slowed, and the decline in property market investment continued to deepen in November as two-month-old stimulus measures fail to impress consumers and investors.
Business mood among large companies improved slightly for the fiscal fourth quarter. Fiscal year 2025 capital expenditure is estimated to expand amid lingering worries of a slowdown in China and looming trade tariffs in the U.S.
Investors sold stocks in Friday's trading after vague commitment to support economic growth failed to meet investor expectations. Property developers led the decliners. For the week, the Hang Seng gained 1.7%, and the CSI 300 index fell 0.8%.
Japan's stock market indexes traded around a five-month high as investors debated rate decisions in the U.S., the European Union, and Japan. The yen edged lower amid BoJ policy uncertainty.
Chinese leaders are struggling to devise concrete fiscal stimulus measures that could have an immediate impact in reviving faltering consumer confidence and a flailing property market.
China and Hong Kong indexes gyrated as investors awaited more clarity on fiscal stimulus measures at the end of of the economic work conference on Thursday.
China's consumer price and producer price inflation indicators confirmed a deflationary trend in November, supporting the case for an additional stimulus announcement at the end of the key policy meeting later in the week.
Japan's nominal wages rose at the fastest pace in 32 years, but real wages were flat in October, highlighting challenges for economic growth in the current year. Real household spending declined amid rising costs of living.
