· Asia stocks fall; shares of Chinese developer Fantasia plunge in return to trade
Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Wednesday trade as investors reacted to the release of Chinese inflation data for October.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.5%, with shares of Chinese real estate firm Fantasia Holdings plunging about 40% after returning to trade. Fantasia — whose Hong Kong-listed stock was suspended for more than a month — failed to repay a $206 million bond that matured early October.
Mainland Chinese stocks declined as the Shanghai composite fell about 0.5% while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.456%.
China’s consumer inflation for October came in roughly in line with expectations, according to official data released Wednesday. The consumer price index for October rose 1.5% from last year, against expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4% increase.
Producer prices, however, rose more than expected. The producer price index for October surged 13.5% from last year, above expectations in a Reuters poll for a 12.4% gain.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan closed 0.61% lower at 29,106.78 while the Topix index fell 0.54% to 2,007.96. Shares of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor surged 7.51% after the firm on Tuesday upgraded its profit outlook.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.09%.
Shares in Australia edged lower on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 declining 0.14% to 7,423.90.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.35% lower.
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