Seoul, South Korea (BBN)-South Korea’s Kospi index closed flat at 2,065.04 after the economy recorded its weakest expansion in six years.
Dragged down by the Mers virus and weak exports, GDP in the second quarter grew just 0.3 per cent in the second quarter compared with 0.8 per cent in the first, reports BBC.
Further bad news came from South Korean car giant Hyundai, which reported a 24 per cent drop in net profit after overseas sales were weaker than expected.
Sales to China, which is Hyundai’s biggest market, fell by about 8 per cent.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.4 per cent to close at 20,683.95.
Data released on Thursday showed Japan’s trade deficit narrowed sharply last month, as exports picked up on the back of a weaker yen.
In June, the value of exports jumped 9.5 per cent while imports fell by 2.9 per cent leaving the trade deficit at 69.0bn yen.
Mainland China stocks extended their recovery on Thursday, rising for a sixth consecutive session. The benchmark Shanghai Composite was up 2.3 per cent at 4,121.50.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6 per cent to 25,426.63.
Australian shares continued to fall, with the ASX 200 index down 0.4 per cent at 5,590.30. Shares in mining companies lost ground again, with BHP Billiton down 2.8 per cent and Fortescue falling 6 per cent.
However, gold miner Newcrest bucked the downward trend, rising 2.8 per cent after it reported higher gold production in the three months to June.
BBN/SK/AD