Market watch: Asian stocks mixed; oil slips ahead of Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine
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Market watch: Asian stocks mixed; oil slips ahead of Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine

Asian stock markets showed a mixed performance on Friday, with strong Japanese growth figures offset by weaker Chinese data, while oil prices slipped ahead of a high-stakes US-Russia summit on Ukraine.As per news agency AFP, Japanโ€™s economy expanded by 0.3% in the April-June quarter, surpassing forecasts, while the previous quarterโ€™s output was revised upwards, helping the worldโ€™s fourth-largest economy avoid a technical recession. The growth came despite tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Japanese imports, including cars, an industry that provides around 8% of Japanโ€™s jobs. The Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1% in morning trade, while markets in Shanghai, Seoul, and Sydney also edged higher.However, Hong Kongโ€™s Hang Seng Index dropped for a second straight session after Chinaโ€™s July retail sales and industrial production grew at a slower pace than expected. Reuters noted that the CSI 300 index erased early gains, reflecting ongoing concerns about Chinaโ€™s prolonged real estate slump, high youth unemployment, and weak consumer sentiment, pressures worsened by the US-China trade war.On Wall Street, stocks ended largely flat on Thursday after strong US producer price inflation dampened hopes of a larger interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month. โ€œWhat it did was to get rid of all the chat about a 50 basis point cut,โ€ said Mike Houlahan of Electus Financial, as quoted by Reuters. Markets are now pricing in a 92% chance of a quarter-point cut, with no expectations of a half-point move.Oil prices eased in Asian trade, reversing Thursdayโ€™s gains. According to AFP, traders are cautious ahead of Fridayโ€™s Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stephen Schork of the Schork Group warned that a failed meeting could lead to โ€œstronger sanctions on Russian oil, making it much more difficult for this oil to get to the market.โ€Key regional indices at 0230 GMT showed Tokyoโ€™s Nikkei 225 up 0.9% at 43,036.46, Shanghai Composite up 0.3% at 3,675.05, Hang Seng down 1.1% at 25,236.62, and Brent crude slipping 0.1% to $66.76 per barrel.



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