Asian markets mostly fell Wednesday after a drop in U.S. existing home sales hurt sentiment and softer commodity prices weighed on material stocks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 average fell 189.19 points, or 1.9%, to 9,923.70
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index crept up 37.53 points, or 0.2%, to 20,856.61
Oil Search fell 2.2% and Santos gave up 3% in Sydney, Inpex Corp. lost 2.9% in Tokyo, PetroChina Co. slid 0.7% in Hong Kong
Woodside Petroleum fell 1.4% after the company flagged a possible timetable delay and cost increases at its 13-billion-Australian-dollar ($11.3 billion) Pluto liquefied natural gas development in Western Australia.
A dozen crane and forklift workers have been on strike over pay and conditions since April 28 and Woodside said late March that its first LNG target could be missed if the action continued.
Weaker base metal prices also hurt mining and metal companies, with BHP Billiton dropping 1.3% and Rio Tinto losing 2.2% in Sydney. But gold miners advanced on firmer spot prices, with Newcrest Mining adding 0.8% in Sydney and Zhaojin Mining Industry Co.gaining 1.4% in Hong Kong.
Most technology and auto stocks were weaker with Samsung Electronics down 1.4% and Hyundai Motor Co. shedding 3.1%, while Korean Air Lines rose 1.1%, extending Tuesday's gains on hopes for strong overseas travel demand in the summer.
Japanese exporters also dropped after the decline on Wall Street, with Honda Motor Co. dropping 1.5%, Nissan Motor Co. off 1.8% and Fanuc 1.9% lower.
In foreign exchange markets, appetite for risk was dampened by losses in the stock markets as well as the disappointing U.S. home sales data. Traders were also cautious ahead of the results of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting due later in the global day.
The euro was at $1.2296 U.S., compared with $1.2277 U.S. in late New York trade Tuesday, and at 111.26 yen from 110.98 yen. The dollar was at 90.50 yen from 90.39 yen.
CHINA
Chinese steel makers fell after the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday it would scrap an export tax rebate on a variety of commodities, including steel and non-ferrous goods.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index skimmed off 25.22 points, or 0.9%, to 2,758.50
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. dropped 2.7% in Shanghai, while Angang Steel Co. shares fell 2.4% in Shenzhen and 3.3% in Hong Kong.
Elsewhere;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index moved 1.25 points lower to 2,871.05
Korea’s Kospi index sank 5.66 points, or 0.3%, to 1,725.82
Taiwan’s Taiex Index slid 30.53 points, or 0.4%, to 7,582.15
New Zealand’s NZX index inched up 0.09 points to 3,054.29
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 took off 72.24 points, or 1.6%, to 4,486.10
