Asian shares tumble after surprise contraction in Chinese exports
Equities skid after data points to deepening cracks in the Chinese economy and raise the fear of a sharper slowdown in global growth
Sydney — Asian shares and US stock futures skidded on Monday after a shock contraction in Chinese exports pointed to deepening cracks in the world’s second-biggest economy and raised the fear of a sharper slowdown in global growth and corporate profits. The latest data from China showed imports fell 7.6% year-on-year in December when analysts had predicted a 5% rise while exports unexpectedly dropped 4.4%, confounding the expectation for a 3% gain. The disappointing numbers reinforced the fear US tariffs on Chinese goods were putting a big strain on China’s already cooling economy. The Australian dollar, a key gauge of global risk sentiment and a liquid proxy for the Chinese yuan, toppled from Friday’s one-month peak of $0.7235 to $0.7186 after the data. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended losses to notch a 1% decline from Friday’s one-and-a-half-month top, with Chinese and Hong Kong shares the biggest losers. Liquidity was generally expected to be li...
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