Japan stocks retreated on Thursday, as investors remained cautious before a batch of key economic data due out on the next day.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo subtracted 74.96 points, or 0.5%, to 15,459.86. The yen turned slightly stronger, with the U.S. dollar buying ¥103.747, down from ¥103.907 a day earlier.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slumped 177.75 points, or 0.7%, to 24,741.
The Japanese government is scheduled to release early Friday reports on the consumer price index, unemployment rate, house spending, factory output and retail sales.
IT services provider Fujitsu Ltd. declined 2.1%, semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics Corporation lost 1.6%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corporation fell 1%, and console maker Nintendo Co., Ltd. shed 0.9%.
In Hong Kong, stocks extended its losing streak to three sessions, with the Hang Seng Index falling 0.7%.
China Mengniu Dairy Co., one of the nation’s largest dairy-product producers, tumbled 6.7% following its earnings report.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down, while the Australian dollar strengthened to 93.64 U.S. cents from 93.36 U.S. cents a day ago.
In other markets;
The Shanghai CSI 300 index lost 16.32 points, or 0.7%, to 2,311.28
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI Index ditched 11.24 points, or 0.3%, to 3,330.22
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index stepped back 7.22 points, or 0.1%, to 9,478.37
In Korea, the Kospi index added 0.83 points to 0.1%, to 2,075.76
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dumped 6.19 points, or 0.1%, to 5,237.51
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 26.77 points, or 0.5%, to 5,624.41.
