Asian markets close midweek down amid China's debt crisis concerns

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Major stock markets in Asia closed on Wednesday down with investors concerned about the implications of rising energy prices and the risks posed by the Chinese financial system.

While concerns over rising raw material prices, high inflation rates, US debt default and China debt crises negatively affect the investors' risk appetite, figures for private jobs in the US, factory orders in Germany, and retail sales in the Eurozone will be monitored.

Japan's political developments are likewise at the top of the agenda.

While the results of a survey conducted in the country revealed that the public support for the new Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his cabinet was 55.7%, the moderate support compared to the previous prime minister increased the importance of the pre-election developments.

On the other hand, it has been reported that the Fumio government is planning to reactivate the "take a trip" campaign, which was paused in December 2020 after the COVID-19 emergency in the country, which ended last week.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, lost 0.61% or 23.10 points to stand at 3,742.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange fell 293.25 points, or 1.05%, to 27,528 while the Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, diminished 137.66 points, or 0.57%, to 23,966.

China's Shanghai stock exchange, on the other hand, rose 31.87 points, or 0.90%, to 3,568.