Asian stocks traded lower Wednesday, as investors scaled back expectations of central-bank stimulus to support the global economy, with the resource and financial sectors among those declining.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index shed 4.84 points to 8,925.04
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 239.39 points, or 1.2%, to 20,052.29
The losses came after hopes for central bank stimulus measures underpinned stock gains in recent weeks.
Financials offered a focus for Wednesday’s Asia trade, with big Japanese banks extending weakness from the previous session.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. lost 0.6%, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. fell 0.8%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. came off by 2.2%.
In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings PLC fell 0.9%, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. lost 1.1%.
But a few major banks managed to buck the trend, with Standard Chartered PLC jumping 3.6% in Hong Kong after the lender agreed to pay $340 million U.S. in settlement over recent accusations from the New York state regulator.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 0.9% in Sydney after reporting a record fiscal-year profit of 7.1 billion Australian dollars ($7.45 billion U.S).
In the mining and metals sector, BHP Billiton Ltd. fell 1% in Sydney, while Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. lost 2.1% and Jiangxi Copper Co. shed 1.4% in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, the stocks gave up 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
Sharp Corp. plunged 12.4% in Tokyo, extending year-to-date losses to 74.9%.
In other markets
Markets in Korea had the day off
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index declined 25.40 points, or 1.1%, to 2,331.62
Taiwan’s Taiex Index swooned 11.51 points, or 0.2%, to 7,467.74
Singapore’s Straits Times Index demurred 25.73 points, or 0.8%, to 3,062.11
New Zealand’s NZX index picked up 22.30 points, or 0.6%, to 3,631.19
Australia’s ASX Index drooped 10.96 points, or 0.3%, to 4,281.22
