|
Asian stocks ended little changed on Wednesday after reports emerged that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's economic advisers are discussing slowly ramping up tariffs month by month. Investors also digested soft U.S. producer inflation print and waited for the release of December CPI data later in the day for greater clarity on the path of Federal Reserve rates over the coming months. The dollar rally paused, helping oil and gold prices push higher in Asian trade. China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.43 percent to 3,227.12 ahead of Chinese 2024 GDP data due later in the week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.34 percent to 19,286.07 after a choppy session. China's bank lending increased moderately in the whole year of 2024, data from the People's Bank of China showed on Tuesday. The yuan-denominated loans increased by CNY 18.09 trillion in 2024. At the end of December, the local currency loans totaled CNY 255.68 trillion, up 7.6 percent. At the same time, foreign currency loans declined 17.4 percent on year to $542.2 billion. The balance of domestic and foreign currency loans was CNY 259.58 trillion, up 7.2 percent annually, the PBoC said. Data showed that aggregate financing increased to CNY 32.26 trillion in 2024 but below the CNY 35.59 trillion registered in 2023. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |