Asia Pacific markets looked set to be mixed in early trade Friday morning, as investors await the release of China’s third-quarter growth data with slowing growth continuing to be a concern amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27% in early trade. But futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese shares as compared to the index’s last close.
China’s gross domestic product numbers for the third quarter are set to be out at 10:00 a.m HK/SIN. Beijing’s protracted trade dispute with the U.S. has weighed on its economy, with growth slowing to 6.2% in the last quarter its slowest pace in 27 years.
Analysts expect that China’s growth will edge down further.
“China’s annual GDP growth is expected to tick down to 6.1% and GDP rarely strays from the consensus, that said this time around there are few forecasters suggesting China could print a sub 6%yoy growth for the first time on record,” Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign exchange strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
The country’s retail sales and fixed asset investments data, also set to be out on Friday, will be important as well, he said. “The market will look to assess whether the government and PBoC easing measures are being large enough to offset the trade led slowdown in manufacturing and exports sectors,” Catril wrote.
Beijing had emphasized Thursday that the U.S. must remove tariffs in order for the two countries to reach a final agreement on trade.
What’s on tap
Here’s the economic calendar for Friday (all times in HK/SIN):
7:30 a.m: Japan consumer price index
10:00 a.m: China GDP
10:00 a.m: China industrial production
10:00 a.m: China retail sales
