AP – Asian stocks were mostly lower yesterday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei losing over two per cent in early trading after a sharp decline on Wall Street driven by high expectations.
United States futures and oil prices were higher.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 2.6 per cent to 38,053.67.
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan announced it would keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25 per cent, which was in line with market expectations.
The Japanese yen traded lower yesterday. The dollar rose to JPY152.50 from JPY152.00.
China markets were the exception from yesterday’s downturn vibe. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.8 per cent to 20,473.16 and the Shanghai Composite index was up in morning trading but slipped 0.1 per cent in the afternoon at 3,276.52.
Factory activity in China went back into growth in October, with the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index released on Thursday reaching 50.1, ending five straight months of contraction. Another private survey yesterday also showed a reading of 50.3, above the expansion line of 50.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5 per cent to 8,118.80 after its producer price index in the third quarter rose 3.9 per cent year-on-year – a return to below four per cent annual growth for the first time since
September 2023, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5 per cent at 2,543.04. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.2 per cent, weighed down by a 0.5-per-cent decline in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Apple’s chip supplier.
Apple’s quarterly earnings report on Thursday revealed a drop in sales revenue from China.
