Economic woes drag down Asian stocks

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday, amid inflation data in China that failed to meet expectations and fears of a possible recession in Europe.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.7 percent to 8,386.30, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was nearly unchanged at 19,149. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,181. Benchmarks in mainland China were mixed while Taiwan and Indonesia were lower.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,856.10. Benchmarks in Singapore and Thailand also rose.

Data released Thursday showed China’s inflation eased slightly in December to 4.1 percent, from November’s 4.2 percent. But analysts had hoped to see more improvement.

Meanwhile, growth problems in Europe continued to spook investors. Germany reported Wednesday that its economy shrank slightly at the end of last year. And the European Union revised its figures for economic growth in the third quarter to 0.1 percent, its slowest pace in more than two years.

A recession on the continent could slam many export-reliant Asian companies, which are already battered by weak global demand. In Japan, Toyota Motor Corp. fell down 1.4 percent and Nissan Motor Corp. lost 1.6 percent. Electronics giant Sharp Corp. dropped 2.7 percent. Panasonic Corp. shed 2.3 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 12,449.45. The S&P 500 gained marginally to 1,292.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 0.3 percent to 2,710.76.