Most Asian markets ended lower Wednesday as concerns over the health of the U.S. economy weighed on sentiment, sending the yen to an eight-month high against the U.S. dollar and hitting shares of Japanese exporters as well as South Korean and Taiwanese technology stocks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 258.20 points, or 2.7%, to 9,292.85, sending its loss-making run into a fourth straight session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index removed 179.06 points, or 0.8%, to 21,294.54
In Japan, sentiment was hurt by the yen's recent gains as well as weaker-than-expected machinery orders data. July core machinery orders rose 1.6% from the month before, well below expectations for a 5.5% rise. The dollar briefly dipped to 84.98 yen before rising back above the closely watched ¥85 level, while the euro dropped below ¥112 for its lowest level against the Japanese unit since July 23.
Honda Motor Co. and Canon Inc. dropped 3.3% among exporters, while in the machinery sector, Fanuc lost 4.4% and Komatsu shed 2.8%.
In Sydney, Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped 3% after its full-year results included cautious comments about its prospects for the current financial year and revealed a slowing in business-banking momentum in the second half of the year. The CBA results dragged on the financial sector, with Westpac Banking Corp. dropping 3.7%.
Resources stocks were also weighing on the market, after the weak Chinese import data Tuesday. BHP Billiton dropped 1.8%, while Rio Tinto fell 1.4% as the stock traded ex-dividend.
Computershare slumped 10.6% after its management forecast a fall in earnings during the current financial year.
Several regional technology shares dropped, tracking their U.S. peers after Intel and Microsoft shares fell on Tuesday. Samsung Electronics dropped 1.8% and Hynix Semiconductor shrank 6.2% in Seoul
In Taipei, Acer Inc. lost 4.1% after the world's second-biggest PC maker by shipments said Tuesday its July revenue fell from the same month last year.
Ssangyong Motor tumbled 14.8% in Seoul as the deadline for binding bids for a majority stake in the troubled car maker passed Tuesday, with at least two of the six interested parties abandoning the race. South Korean private-equity fund Seoul Invest and a group led by French car maker Renault didn't submit bids by the deadline for a controlling stake in Ssangyong, which has been under court-led bankruptcy protection since early 2009.
In Hong Kong, shares of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing dropped 2.1% after it reported a 16% drop in second-quarter net profit.
Diversified Hutchison Whampoa jumped 6%, resuming its strong run after Tuesday's decline and in the wake of strong results last week. The stock was also aided by an exchange filing that showed the company's managing director and chief financial officer bought shares a day after the company's interim results.
In foreign-exchange markets, the yen surged against the euro on increased risk aversion. The euro was buying ¥111.31, compared with ¥112.58 in late New York trade Tuesday, and $1.3061, from $1.3187. The dollar was at ¥85.20, compared with ¥85.35
CHINA
A raft of data from China showed the country's economy continued to cool in July. Chinese property shares rebounded after July inflation came in mostly in line with expectations, easing worries of further monetary policy tightening.
Even so, Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index gained 17.57 points, or 0.6%, to 2,850.21
Property shares paced gains on mainland Chinese bourses as fears of potential tightening measures subsided after the July inflation numbers. China Vanke jumped 4.5%, Poly Real Estate rose 2.5% and Gemdale Corp. gained 2.1%.
China's consumer price index rose 3.3% in July from a year earlier, accelerating from June's 2.9% rise but was a touch below economists' expectations for a 3.4% rise.
Other data on industrial production and fixed-asset investment indicated that China's economic activity continued to slow as the effect of stimulus measures faded
Elsewhere;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index let go of 35.03 points or 1.2% to 2,949.26
Korea’s Kospi index slid 22.94 points, or 1.3%, to 1,758.19
Taiwan’s Taiex Index took off 81.71 points, or 1%, to 7,895.03
New Zealand’s NZX index docked 9.10 points, or 0.3%, to 3,036.01
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 85.20 points, or 1.9%, to 4,455.50
