Pedestrians look at a share prices board in Tokyo. Japanese stocks closed down 144.28 points to 16,229.86 yesterday.
Asian markets mostly fell yesterday as traders followed heavy losses on Wall Street, while the dollar bounced back against the yen after tumbling in New York.
Tokyo sank 0.88%, or 144.28 points, to 16,229.86, while Sydney dropped 1.28%, or 68.8 points, to close at 5,313.4, leaving it in negative territory for the year to date. Seoul fell 0.12%, or 2.47 points, to 2,031.64 and Hong Kong eased 0.38%, or 89.72 points, to 23,678.41.
However, Shanghai reversed morning losses to end 0.11% higher, adding 2.62 points, to 2,347.72
In other markets, Taipei lost 0.24%, or 21.77 points, to 8,989.82; Hon Hai shed 2.9% to Tw$97.1 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co fell 0.82% to Tw$121.0.
Wellington shed 0.46%, or 24.37 points, to 5,253.49; Fletcher Building was down 0.46% at NZ$8.75 and Spark slipped 1.34% to NZ$2.95.
Manila closed 0.45% lower, slipping 32.91 points to 7,261.30; Philippine Long Distance Telephone dropped 1.60% to 3,198pesos and Metropolitan Bank shed 1.49% to 86pesos, while Alliance Global eased 1.15% to 25.85 pesos.
Jakarta ended down 1.32%, or 68.82 points, at 5,132.56; Lender Bank Negara Indonesia fell 4.76% to 5,500 rupiah, while food manufacturer Indofood Sukses Makmur rose 0.36% to 6,950 rupiah.
Singapore closed up 0.04%, or 1.22 points, to 3,292.21; DBS bank rose 0.71% to Sg$18.52 while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle & Carriage eased 0.30% to Sg$43.28.
Malaysia’s key index lost 2.61 points, or 0.14%, to end at 1,840.50; Malayan Banking fell 0.3% to 9.85 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia shed 0.3% to 6.52. Utility Tenaga Nasional gained 0.2% to 12.28 ringgit.
Bangkok rose 0.51%, or 8.17 points, to 1,600.16; Bangchak Petroleum gained 3.47% to 37.25 baht, while Bumrungrad Hospital added 2.64% to 136baht.
Analysts said the losses could be partially blamed on profit-taking at the end of the quarter after a recent uptrend, while investors contemplate a weak outlook for China and Japan and the likelihood of higher US interest rates from next year.
US stocks turned negative Thursday, led by a sell-off in Apple, which has been hit by complaints about its new operating system and latest iPhone models.
The Dow tumbled 1.54% and the S&P 500 lost 1.62%.
The Nasdaq sank 1.94%.
Adding to downward pressure in New York was news that US durable goods orders plunged 18.2% in August while the Labour Department said new claims for unemployment insurance rose last week. Japan said yesterday that inflation came in at 3.1% in August.
Excluding the impact of a sales tax hike in April, the rise in core consumer prices was 1.1%, well short of the Bank of Japan’s ambitious 2.0% target for next year.
Many economists say the central bank may have to further ease monetary policy to offset the long-term impact of a sales tax hike on consumption.
The sharp fall in equities filtered through to the foreign exchange market, where the dollar slipped in US trade Thursday to ¥108.73 from ¥109.30 earlier in Tokyo.
But in afternoon exchanges yesterday, the greenback edged back ¥109. The euro was also struggling following a series of results suggesting the eurozone economy’s tepid recovery was faltering.
The euro—which hit a two-year low below $1.27 intraday Thursday—bought $1.2745 and ¥138.95 against $1.2750 and ¥138.62 in New York.
On oil markets, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was down 13 cents to $92.40 while Brent crude for November eased 28 cents to $96.72 in afternoon trade.
Gold was at 1,223.10 an ounce against $1,225.14 late Thursday.