Asian Stock Market: Trades lower amid the fear of US higher rate, China's economic woes

Asian equities edges lower on Thursday as investors are concerned about inflationary pressures in the US, which could convince the Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep interest rates high for longer than expected.

At press time, China’s Shanghai is down 0.58% to 3,139, the Shenzhen Component Index dips 1.24% to 10,385, Hong Kong’s Hang Sang declines 1.01% to 18,264, South Korea’s Kospi is down 0.77% and Japan’s Nikkei is down 0.67%.

In China, the latest data showed on Thursday that the nation’s Exports fell 8.8% YoY in August from a 14.5% drop in the previous month, a better-than-expected 9.5% drop. On the same line, Imports contracted 7.3% from a 12.4% drop prior and beat the market consensus of a 9.4% drop. Additionally, China registered a trade surplus of $68.36B in August, compared to $73.80B estimated and $80.6B in July.

Japanese stocks loses ground as Bank of Japan (BoJ) policymaker Junko Nakagawa said that it is appropriate to maintain an easy monetary policy for the time being. However, new economic stimulus measures offset some selling pressure. Kyodo News cites anonymous sources on Wednesday to affirm that the Japanese government is likely to launch a stimulus plan in October to support companies' wage increases and to lower energy bills.

Thailand's inflation, measured by the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.88% YoY in August from 0.38% in the previous reading. While Philippine’s Consumer Price Index increased 5.3% YoY in August from the previous reading of a 4.7% increase in July.

Looking ahead, the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Unit Labor Costs for Q2 will be due on Thursday. The attention will shift to the Japanese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q2 on Friday. The quarterly growth number is expected to grow by 1.3%.