Better than expected Chinese economic growth did little to rally markets on Friday morning as the world awaited US President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech at 7pm Johannesburg time.China’s fourth quarter gross domestic growth came in at 6.8%, beating economist’s consensus that it would remain at the third quarter’s 6.7%.Mainland China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange rallied 1.44% and Shanghai rose 0.54%, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.62%.The Australian Securities Exchange’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.56% lower ahead of the JSE’s opening. BHP Billiton fell 1.12% to A$26.39 following Thursday’s announcement that it an Vale had reached a preliminary agreement with Brazilian prosecutors to pay a $47.5bn fine for the Samarco dam disaster. New Zealand's NZX-50 index fell 0.2% as a cautious mood persisted among Asia-Pacific investors ahead of Trump's inauguration. Banks were among the major losers, with ANZ and Westpac falling about 1.5%.The JSE’s banking index closed 1.27% lower on Thursday...
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