By Aysu Bicer
ANKARA (AA) – Stocks in Asia closed mixed on Friday as concerns over global inflation and recession continue to dent investor appetite and spur volatility.
China’s Shanghai composite index in China was down 0.6% to end the day on 3,024 points.
The decline came after China’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data was released earlier in the day.
The PMI for the manufacturing industry rose to 50.1 in September, while the services PMI slipped to 50.6.
China’s central bank has also vowed to boost efforts for a more stable yuan, a declaration that brought dollar/yuan parity down from 7.21 to just below 7.10.
Over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.8% to end the day at 25,397 points, while the dollar/yen parity dropped to 144.37.
This was after data released earlier in the day showed that Japan’s consumer confidence index slipped to 30.8 in September.
However, it also showed a 4.1% growth in retail sales and a 3.4% annual jump in industrial production in August
In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.7% to 2,155 points.
India’s Sensex index posted a 1.7% gain to close at around 57,352 points, following the central bank’s decision to hike the policy rate by 50 basis points to 5.9%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was also up on the day, climbing 0.6% to 17,266.