Japanese stocks fell to their lowest closing level since start of the month, extending losses to a fourth straight session on Thursday, as the country’s machinery orders posted an unexpected plunge in May.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 86.18 points, or 0.6%, to 15,216.47. The yen meanwhile, strengthened to ¥101.42 per U.S. dollar from ¥101.58 per U.S. dollar in the previous day.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong markets bounced back following a rebound in the U.S. markets overnight, but gains were capped due to a slower-than-expected growth in China’s exports for June.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong regained 62.92 points, or 0.3%, to 23,238.99
Japan’s official statistics showed Thursday that core machinery orders dropped 19.5% in May from a month earlier, defying economists’ forecasts of a 0.9% rise in two separate surveys by The Wall Street Journal and the Nikkei. It was the sharpest decline in the key gauge of capital spending since April 2005.
Financial and tech stocks fell in broad weakness, with top investment bank Nomura Holdings tumbling 3.2%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan’s largest banks , sliding 1.8%, electronics giant Sharp Corp. losing 1.5%, and telecom and Internet conglomerate SoftBank Corp. dropping 1.2%.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 slipped 5.86 points, or 0.3%, to 2,142.85
China’s exports increased 7.2% in June from a year earlier, better than a 7% increase in May, but below a forecast 10.6% rise from a survey of economists.
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index nicked up 2.34 points, or 0.1%, to 2,002.84
Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 5.96 points, or 0.2%, to 3,269.50
In Taiwan, the Taiex index grew 75.14 points, or 0.8%, to 9,569.12
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 5.27 points, or 0.1%, to 5,128.01
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 progressed 11.96 points, or 0.2%, to 5,464.45
