Most Asian indexes closed lower on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions re-entered the spotlight and China consumer inflation missed expectations.
The Nikkei 225 tumbled 257.30 points, or 1.3%, to 19,738.71
The Hang Seng Index slumped 97.82 points, or 0.4%, to 27,757.09
Geopolitical tensions ramped up after U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea it would be "met with fire and fury" if it continued to make threats against the U.S. His comments came on the back of a report from the Washington Post that the hermit state had created a miniaturized nuclear weapon that could fit in its missiles.
Just hours after Trump's warning, North Korea reportedly said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam with missiles.
Demand for safe haven assets picked up following the statement from North Korea. The yen firmed against the U.S. dollar, with the currency trading as low as 109.71 yen to the dollar earlier in the session. The greenback had fetched as much as 110.37 yen overnight. Dollar/yen stood at 109.91 yen late afternoon.
The Australian currency firmed after sliding ahead of the release of China inflation numbers. The Aussie dollar dipped to trade at $0.7860 U.S. immediately after the release, compared with levels around $0.787 before the data. The Aussie dollar — which sometimes acts as a China proxy due to the two countries' trade links — stood at $0.7879 late afternoon, but remained firmly below an overnight high of $0.7916 U.S.
On the earnings front, Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced Wednesday its full-year profit rose 4.6% to A$9.88 billion ($7.82 billion U.S.). The bank currently faces allegations it breached money laundering rules Down Under. CBA scrapped the bonus of its chief executive following the allegations. Shares of the bank closed up 0.6%
Other corporate news of note included the announcement of a joint venture between Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Yahoo Japan. The joint venture aims to process customer data at the Japanese bank to improve services, Nikkei Asian Review reported. SMFG shares finished down 1.3% and Yahoo Japan shed 0.2%
Toshiba stock closed up 3.2% after soaring more than 6% in early trade. That followed news the company's auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata is expected to sign off on its annual results. However, PwC is also likely to provide a negative view of Toshiba's internal controls.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing also reported that half-year net profit increased 17%, compared with one year ago Wednesday. Shares of the exchange operator were down 0.9% late in the afternoon.
Other market movers in Asia included Hong Kong's Esprit Holdings. The retailer said full-year profit for the year that ended on June 30 was expected to come in at a range between HK$50 million ($6.39 million U.S.) to HK$80 million ($10.23 million U.S.), compared with the HK$21 million ($1.53 million U.S.) seen last year. Esprit stock rose 5.6% by late afternoon local time.
A halt in the trade of Hong Kong-listed Wanda Hotel Development was issued Wednesday morning. In a filing to the Hong Kong Exchange, Wanda Hotel said the action was taken pending an announcement concerning a letter of intent about "possible asset restructuring." The company's stock had soared 16% in the Tuesday session after it clarified it did not have plans to dispose of several projects in Australia.
CHINA
The CSI 300 dipped 1.17 points to 3,731.04
Meanwhile, investors digested the release of China inflation data for the month of July. The world's second-largest economy announced its consumer price index rose 1.4% on year, just shy of the 1.5% figure forecast. The producer price index rose 5.5%, compared with the previous year, in line with analyst expectations.
In other markets
Markets in Singapore were shuttered for holiday
In Taiwan, the Taiex index lost 98.59 points, or 0.9%, to 10,470.38
In Korea, the Kospi index shed 26.34 points, or 1.1%, to 2,368.39
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 16.93 points, or 0.2%, to 7,779.64
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 21.91 points, or 0.4%, to 5,765.66
