Asian markets see mixed figures at close

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Stock markets in Asia ended Wednesday with mixed figures ahead of the release of US inflation data.

The US Labor Department is set to announce the consumer price index for October later in the day.

On one side, there are global supply shortages and the continuing rise in commodity prices, triggering inflationary concerns.

On the other side, shares of Chinese Fantasia Holdings, whose operations were stopped on the Hong Kong stock exchange after it declared that it could not pay its due debts, lost nearly half of their value when shares started to be traded again, putting pressure on the markets.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, fell by 12.46 points, or 0.32%, to close at nearly 3,882 points.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange also lost 178.6 points, or 0.61%, to 29,106.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, on the other hand rose 183 points, or 0.74%, to 24,996.

China’s Shanghai stock exchange was down 14.54 points, or 0.41%, to 3,492 points.

China's exports soared 27.1% year-on-year to surpass $300 billion in October, while its imports totaled $215.7 billion, surging 20.6%, said data from the General Administration of Customs.

The country posted a foreign trade surplus of $84.5 billion in October versus $66.8 billion a month ago.

The Indian Sensex benchmark rose 4.20 points, or 0.01%, to 60,437, while the Singapore index was down 14.43 points, or 0.44%, to 3,228.​​​​​​​