Asian stock markets fall after China data

Asian stocks fall after stronger-than-expected Chinese data Asian stocks recouped some early-session losses on Wednesday after economic data from China showed stronger-than-expected growth. China grew 4.9 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had expected the country’s economy to grow 4.4 percent. The world’s second-largest economy also reported stronger-than-expected retail sales data for September and the urban unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly two years last month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.02 percent, while China’s benchmark CSI 300 index fell 0.39 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.16 percent ahead of Thursday’s unemployment data. The unemployment rate is one of Australia’s key measures of monetary policy, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Japanese stocks fell; the Nikkei 225 fell 0.21 percent and the Topix fell 0.18 percent. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.07 percent, while the Kosdaq lost 1 percent. Taiwan's Taiex fell nearly 1 percent.