SINGAPORE—Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo benchmarks posted their biggest weekly losses of the year, as fresh signs of an economic slowdown in China and the euro zone spooked investors.
After surging in early 2012 on upbeat data on the U.S. economy, shares have pulled back, in part on a string of news from China, including a downgrading of its growth outlook for 2012 as data Thursday that showed a slowdown in Chinese factory activity. After most Asian markets had closed Thursday, data on euro-zone manufacturing activity fell short of expectations, raising concerns of a far deeper recession in Europe just when policy makers there seem to be getting a handle on the debt crisis.
"Heightened concerns about slower global growth have sustained the risk retreat, manifest in weaker equities, lower U.S. Treasury yields, softer commodities and a firmer yen," Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, said in a note. "It is now clear that the U.S. economic recovery alone is not enough to lift markets after better-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data [Thursday] failed to spark a turnaround."
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, fell 1.1% on Friday to 2349.54 points. It fell 2.3% for the week, its worst weekly performance this year; it has fallen 4.5% over the last three weeks, but has gained 6.8% so far this year.
The Hang Seng Index lost 1.1% Friday to 20668.80, extending its loss for the week to 3% for the week, the biggest weekly loss in four months. It is still up 12% this year.
The Nikkei also lost 1.1% on Friday, accounting for most of its 1.2% decline over the week. It has surged 18% this year.
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