Japanese stocks fell sharply on their first day of trading in 2014, leading Asia lower on Monday, while in Shanghai, concerns over new listings weighed on share prices.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index returned from an extended holiday to plummet 382.43 points, or 2.4%, to 15,908.88.
The main catalyst was a firmer yen, which had pushed higher against the dollar in the period over the holidays. The U.S. dollar was trading at ¥104.48, compared with ¥105.30 late Tuesday, the final trading day of 2013.
A stronger currency typically hurts Japanese stocks, as a firmer yen makes it harder for companies to price their products competitively abroad and reduces the value of repatriated profits.
The fall on the Nikkei Average put an end to a year-closing winning streak. The Nikkei surged 57% in 2013, its best year since 1972.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 133.13 points, or 0.6%, to 22,684.15
In corporate news, Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corp. fell 3.6%, much steeper than the 0.5% decline on the Taiex, after the firm managed to make a small net profit in the fourth quarter after selling its stake in a U.S. headphone company, though it recorded another operating loss due to falling sales.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index shed 52.14 points, or 2.3%, to 2,238.64
Chinese stocks were also weaker, as the impact of a reopened initial-public-offering market continued to weigh on local sentiment. In all, 15 companies published their IPO prospectuses on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges on Monday. Analysts say that the pace of new share listings is faster than many had anticipated, raising fears of a short-term flood of new stock.
HSBC’s China services Purchasing Managers’ Index also weighed on sentiment. The gauge of expansion intentions in the services sector fell to 50.9 in December from 52.5 in November. This followed numbers released last week that showed a deceleration in both China manufacturing and services sectors.
Markets across the region were positioning themselves ahead of data due this week.
China is due to publish trade and inflation figures on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi index bucked the trend and actually gained 7.14 points, or 0.4%, to 1,953.28
Taiwan’s Taiex Index dipped 46.53 points, or 0.5%, to 8,500.01
The Singapore Straits Times Index slid 7.65 points, or 0.2%, to 3,123.82
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 docked 3.72 points, or 0.1%, to 4,765.32
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 doffed 25.22 points, or 0.5%, to 5,324.88
