Chinese markets end flat after mixed economic data

Asian stocks ended lower on Monday as Moody's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating reinforced Wall Street's growing worries over the U.S. sovereign bond market.

Moody's slashed the credit rating of the U.S. by a notch to Aa1 from the highest triple-A rating, citing the government's massive budget deficit and high interest rates.

The U.S. dollar dipped while the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 4.52 percent from 4.44 percent on Friday amid renewed trade tensions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in television interviews on Sunday that President Donald Trump is employing "strategic uncertainty" as a negotiating tactic in his trade talks and that tariffs will be imposed at the rate he threatened last month if countries do not negotiate in "good faith" on deals.

 

Gold prices rose about 1 percent in Asian trade due to trade and U.S. debt concerns. Oil declined on demand concerns after official data showed a slowdown in the pace of China's industrial output and retail sales.

Chinese markets ended little changed as mixed economic readings highlighted a fragile recovery. Industrial output held up in April but retail sales and investment disappointed as firms and households turn more cautious due to the trade war, official data revealed.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally higher at 3,367.58 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended with a negative bias at 23,332.72.

Alibaba Group Holding shares fell 3.4 percent after reports that U.S. officials are scrutinizing a potential Apple-Alibaba deal to integrate AI features into iPhones in China.

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