Asian stock markets opened mixed on Monday as investors assessed information from the National People’s Congress of China that eyed an economic growth of 5% this year, which is the lower-end range of earlier reports by the source.
As of 10:19 BKK time on Monday, March 6, 2023, Nikkei rose 1.19%, Shanghai Composite fell 0.40%, Hang Seng Index slipped 0.06%, ASX200 gained 0.78% and Kospi increased 0.90%.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s SET Index closed for the holiday.
At the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China aims to expand its economy by around 5% in 2023. The target was at the bottom range of an earlier report by Reuters citing people familiar with the matter that the government was considering an expansion target between 5-6%. Meanwhile, Beijing set its 2023 defense budget to rise by 7.2%, remaining single-digit for the 8th year.
