Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Thursday amid increasing COVID-19 risks and concerns over the recent regulatory crackdown in China. The downside remained capped as a tame U.S. inflation reading suggested the Federal Reserve might not be in a hurry to tighten policy for now.
Chinese shares fell as weak bank lending data triggered liquidity concerns and the banking and insurance regulator said it would step up its scrutiny of online insurance companies.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended down 7.88 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,524.74 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 142.34 points, or 0.53 percent, to finish at 26,517.82.
Japanese shares fell on profit taking after four days of gains. The Nikkei average slipped 55.49 points, or 0.20 percent, to 28,015.02, while the broader Topix index closed marginally lower at 1,953.55.
E-commerce firm Rakuten lost 6.4 percent after its net loss swelled for the six months to June. Toshiba gave up 4.1 percent after the troubled industrial conglomerate left its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged.
On the positive side, advertising giant Dentsu jumped 5 percent after forecasting a return to the black for the current fiscal year.
Australian markets fluctuated before finishing on a flat note as investors fretted about the worsening domestic coronavirus situation, particularly in New South Wales.
Bulk grain handler Graincorp soared 11.7 percent after upgrading its earnings forecasts for the year for the second time since May. Wealth manager AMP rallied 3.2 percent as it posted a 57 percent rise in underlying profit for the year.
Downer EDI climbed 4.2 percent after the engineering group bounced back to a full-year profit. Insurer QBE soared 8.1 percent after boosting its dividend.
Telco Telstra jumped 3.7 percent after reporting a rise in its annual profit and announcing a A$1.35 billion ($994.68 million) share buyback.
Gold miners ended mixed despite the precious metal seeing its biggest single-day percentage gain since May 6 on Wednesday.
Seoul stocks fell for the sixth straight session as foreign investors dumped chip stocks amid fears of a price fall of DRAM. The benchmark Kospi dropped 12.24 points, or 0.38 percent, to settle at 3,208.38 even as the country’s daily new coronavirus cases fell back slightly below 2,000, after soaring to a record high the previous day. Samsung Electronics lost 1.9 percent and SK Hynix slumped 4.7 percent on concerns over a drop in chip prices.
New Zealand shares ended lower amid concerns about higher inflation and expectations that the Reserve Bank will lift the benchmark interest rate from a record low 0.25 percent next week. The benchmark NZX-50 index dropped 66.26 points, or 0.52 percent, to 12,681.81. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 2.8 percent and Mercury NZ dropped 2.6 percent.
U.S. stocks ended broadly higher overnight as new data indicated U.S. inflation growth may have peaked, helping ease tapering concerns. The consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in July after climbing 0.9 percent in June.
The Dow rose 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to reach new record closing highs on the heels of the passage of a large infrastructure bill, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent.
Market Analysis
Asian Shares Mostly Lower On China Curbs
2021-08-12 08:42:55
