China GDP grew 4.5% year-on-year in the December quarter, in line with expectations, taking China’s 2025 GDP to 5%, meeting Beijing’s target

Most Asian stocks dropped on Monday. Losses in Chinese stocks were limited after gross domestic product data read stronger than expected for the fourth quarter. The Chinese economy also met Beijing’s annual growth target of 5% in 2025.

South Korean shares rallied past their peers on gains, hitting a record high on gains in Hyundai, as investors cheered the company’s artificial intelligence and robotics efforts.

Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes declined 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 1%.

ASX 200 shed 0.3%, while Straits Times index declined 0.5%. Nifty 50 index slipped 0.6% in morning trade.

Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes moved in a tight range on Monday after government data showed GDP grew slightly more than expected quarter-on-quarter in the December period.

China GDP grew 4.5% year-on-year in the December quarter, in line with expectations, taking China’s 2025 GDP to 5%, meeting Beijing’s target.

The print was driven chiefly by resilience in Chinese exports. This in turn kept China’s manufacturing sector running hot.

Chinese consumption was also supported by continued stimulus measures from Beijing, as the government sought to end a years-long post-COVID slump in confidence.

But some prints for December still showed gaps in China’s economic recovery. Fixed asset investment, a key gauge of business spending, declined much more than expected, while retail sales growth missed expectations.

KOSPI outperformed its peers on Monday, rising 1.5% to a record high on gains in Hyundai.

Hyundai Motor was the biggest boost to the KOSPI, soaring more than 12% to a record high amid growing optimism over the company’s prospects in robotics and AI.

Gains in chips also buoyed the KOSPI.

SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the country’s two largest chipmakers, advanced 0.4% and 1.5%, respectively.

Sentiment towards the two, which are primarily memory chip makers, was buoyed by rival Micron Technology Inc investing $1.8 billion to buy a facility from Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.

Powerchip shares surged 10% in Taipei trade after the deal.

Broader Asian chipmakers retreated on Monday, but were sitting on some gains from last week following bumper earnings from industry bellwether TSMC.