Most Asian markets stumbled Thursday, with Japan dropping as much as 2.4% during the session after the dollar touched a 15-year low the previous day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 80.26 points, or 0.9%, to 9,212.59, a fifth straight loss.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 188.83 points, or 0.9%, to 21,105.71
Anxiety over the global economic outlook and weaker commodity prices sparked a selloff across sectors, hurting exporters and resource-sector shares.
The dollar, which fell as low as 84.71 yen Wednesday, was buying ¥85.65 yen from ¥85.37 late in New York on Wednesday. The euro was fetching ¥110.63 after also falling sharply Wednesday, when it was trading at ¥109.99 in late New York trade. The common currency was buying $1.2913 from $1.2882.
In Japan, Nintendo lost 3.5% and Elpida Memory dropped 3.4%, while shares of Toyota Motor ended 0.3% higher on the yen's recovery, after plumbing March 2009 lows earlier in the session. Dai-ichi Life Insurance tumbled 5.7% after reporting a 65% year-to-year slump in first-quarter net profit as its returns on investment were hit by sluggish markets.
Shares of China Mobile rose 2.4% after the mobile operator and Xinhua news agency signed an agreement to form a media and search-engine company.
Disappointing earnings reports and forecasts dented sentiment in Sydney.
Telstra tumbled 9.5% after the company, Australia's biggest telecommunications concern, reported a 4.7% drop in annual profit and flagged flat revenue and lower operating earnings in the year ahead. James Hardie Industries fell 7.5% after the building products group made a full-year profit forecast well below analysts' expectations. Qantas Airways declined 1.2% after it gave a cautious outlook despite reporting an improved underlying fiscal year profit before tax.
South Korean stocks were dragged down by concerns over the global economic recovery, with bellwether Samsung Electronics losing 1.7% and LG Electronics falling 1.5%.
The Bank of Korea on Thursday left its key policy rate unchanged at 2.25%, as expected. But HSBC economist Song-yi Kim said "the door is wide open for hikes" in coming months as officials were turning attention to inflationary pressures because of strong domestic demand. HSBC expects five quarter-point rate increases by the end of 2011.
Among currencies, the Australian dollar was down earlier against the U.S. dollar after data showed Australia's July jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.3% from 5.1% in June. The Aussie recovered to 89.45 U.S. cents late in Sydney.
CHINA
Chinese and Hong Kong markets dropped on weak global cues, with bank shares declining on concerns that Beijing might continue to rein in loan growth.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index slid 33.82 points, or 1.2%, to 2,816.39
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.7% in Shanghai and 1% in Hong Kong, while China Merchants Bank gave up 2.2% in Shanghai and 2.6% in Hong Kong.
Elsewhere;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index let go of 22.22 points or 0.8%, to 2,927.04
Korea’s Kospi index stumbled 36.44 points, or 2.1%, to 1,721.75
Taiwan’s Taiex Index took off 65.24 points, or 0.8%, to 7,829.79
New Zealand’s NZX index docked 29.10 points, or 1%, to 3,006.90
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 54.60 points, or 1.2%, to 4,400.90
