Asian Stocks Mixed Ahead Of U.S. GDP Rate, ECB Meeting

Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday ahead of an update on the U.S. economy and a European Central Bank meeting that is expected to raise its key interest rate to a 13-year high.

Photo Insert: The ECB, which manages the euro currency used by Germany, France and 17 other countries, is expected to raise its benchmark lending rate by up to 0.75 percentage points.

Shanghai and Tokyo declined while Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Wall Street fell after tech companies reported disappointing quarterly results, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Forecasters expect US government data to show the economy grew in the three months ending in September after two quarters of contraction. Other indicators including housing sales suggest activity is cooling following rate hikes to rein in stubbornly high inflation.

The ECB, which manages the euro currency used by Germany, France and 17 other countries, is expected to raise its benchmark lending rate by up to 0.75 percentage points.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 2,993.70 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.3% to 27,345.24. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.3% to 15,515.92.

The Kospi in Seoul advanced 1.7% to 2,288.72 after the government reported economic growth slowed to a one-year low of 0.3% over the previous quarter in the three months ending in September from the previous quarter’s 0.7% increase. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 6,845.10.

India’s Sensex opened up 0.3% at 59,716.48. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets rose.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index fell 0.7% to 3,830.60, breaking three days of gains after Microsoft and the parent companies of Google and Facebook reported weaker-than-expected profit or revenue. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 2% to 10,970.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended little changed, gaining 2.37 points to 31,839.11.

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