Asian markets fell on Thursday, with Australia and Japan among the worst performers, ahead of Friday’s U.S. labour report.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 230.45 points, or 1.5%, to 15,177.49, adding to a sharp 2.2% decline Wednesday, brought about by a reversal in the yen’s recent weakening trend that has seen the dollar trade around ¥103 in recent sessions.
The U.S. dollar lost 0.2% against the yen in the previous session and edged down to ¥101.88 late in Asia compared with ¥102.35 late Wednesday in New York.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index erased 16.13 points, or 0.1% to 23,712.57
Australian markets also nosedived, with banks falling sharply as traders talked about a large order to sell lenders from an institutional investor. Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 1.8% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group lost 1.7%.
It was a busy day in terms of corporate news, with several major companies moving sharply lower in response to negative developments.
Qantas Airways plunged 11.2% in Sydney after it announced a first-half underlying pretax loss of between 250 million and 300 million Australian dollars ($226 million-$271 million U.S.). In addition, the firm announced 1,000 job cuts, a pay freeze and a structural review of capital expenditure and assets.
Standard Chartered sank 4.7% in Hong Kong after the lender warned that its operating profit would fall this year for the first time in a decade, due to problems in its South Korea business and a weak fourth quarter.
China Mobile rose 0.5% in Hong Kong, bucking the broader downward trend in the market, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the firm signed a deal with Apple to offer iPhones on its network.
Firms that make mini-vehicles in Japan fell after a Nikkei report that the government will raise ownership taxes for these cars by October 2015. Suzuki Motor Corp. lost 1.9% and Daihatsu Motor Co. fell 2.1%.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index lost 6.94 points, or 0.3%, to 2,468.20.
After the U.S. labour report, China will start to release its monthly economic data for November, with trade figures out over the weekend and inflation numbers Monday.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index dipped 2.03 points, or 0.1%, to 1,984.77
Taiwan’s Taiex Index slipped 42.46 points, or 0.5%, to 8,375.54
The Singapore Straits Times Index let go of 36.32 points, or 1.2%, to 3,124.38
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 14.21 points, or 0.3%, to 4,719.95
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 discarded 75.99 points, or 1.4%, to 5,197.96
