Asian stock markets close Thursday down ahead of key US data

ANKARA 

Major Asian stock markets closed in the negative territory on Thursday, as COVID-19 outbreaks in China weighed on market confidence ahead of key US inflation data.

US annual consumer inflation for October, set to be announced on Thursday, is expected to come in at 8%, slightly lower than September’s 8.2%.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, lost 1.23%, to end the day at 2,934.17. points.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.98% to close at 27,446.10.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, declined 1.70% to 16,081.04.

China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.39% to 3,036.

India’s Sensex benchmark decreased 0.73% to close at 60,589, while the Singapore index rose 0.24% to 3,173.

• Asian stock markets
• COVID-19
• US data