Investing.com - Shares in Asia fell on Thursday as weaker than expected industrial and other data from China weighed on sentiment, though Australia saw a surprise jump in new jobs.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.11% while the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.13%. In Greater China, the Hang Seng index dipped 0.42% adn the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.17%.
China released fixed asset investment for August that came in up 7.8%, below the 8.2% gain expected on year, industrial production rose 6.0%, compared with a 6.6% increase seen on year, and retail sales increased 10.1%, compared with a 10.5% rise seen on year.
Earlier, Australia reported jobs data with the employment change figure jumping by 54,200, compared with gain of 15,000 jobs seen for August under a participation rate of 65.3%, higher that the 65.1% expected, for an unemployment rate steady at 5.6%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks raced to a record close for the second day in a row, shrugging off a weak wholesale inflation data while renewed hopes of tax reform lifted sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 22158.18. The S&P 500 closed 0.08% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6460.19, up 0.09%.
The rally on Wall Street showed no sign of coming to a halt as three main U.S. indices closed at record highs as investors continue to cheer waning geopolitical uncertainty while growing optimism for tax reform fuelled the risk-on trade.
President Donald Trump’s tweet comes a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration is considering backdating year tax reform to the start of the year to boost the American economy.
Meanwhile, inflation at the wholesale level undershot expectations, adding to the narrative that slowing inflation could derail the Federal Reserve’s plan to hike rates at least once more.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.2% last month after slipping 0.1% in July. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 2.4% after rising 1.9% in July.
On the corporate news front, Apple led a slump in the tech sector, following the tech giant’s annual consumer products event on Tuesday, when it unveiled three new iPhone models including the iPhone X which is set to hit the shelves on November 3.
Shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL) closed at 159.65, down 0.75%.