Asia report: Stocks mixed as KOSPI rebounds, Nikkei retreats

(Sharecast News) - Asian stock markets finished mixed on Monday, with solid gains in Seoul, Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai met with losses in Tokyo, Singapore and Taipei, as investor sentiment remained fragile following last week's AI sell-off.

The KOSPI jumped 1.8%, rising for the second day after dropping to its lowest since mid-April last Thursday.

The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, after Chinese economic data showed that GDP growth gathered pace in the third quarter as booming international demand for AI-related tech helped offset weakness elsewhere.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, GDP grew by 4.5% in the three months to September, building on growth of 4.3% in the previous quarter and ahead of forecasts for 4.4%. Beijing is targeting annual growth of 4.5% to 5%.

Patrick Munnelly, partner, market strategy, at Tickmill Group, said: "The beat is welcome but not decisive. Beijing still faces work in the fourth quarter to meet the annual growth goal. Markets will focus on whether activity data show genuine domestic momentum or continued reliance on external demand and policy support. The broader geopolitical backdrop remains tense."

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell around 0.6%, with tech groups Tokyo Electron and SoftBank providing a drag. Taiwan's Taiex also dropped 0.6% as TSMC retreated after reporting strong earnings last week.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% while the Strait Times Index slipped 0.1%.

Elsewhere, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite fell another 4%, following an 11% tumble on Friday on fears that it would soon be excluded from index provider MSCI's main markets. MSCI said last week the index's emerging-market status was "no longer appropriate" following investor concerns "regarding the investability of the Indonesian equity market", raising the possibility of significant outflows from emerging markets-focused funds.