Asian stock markets declined Tuesday, with Japanese shares finishing at a fresh 16-month low as investors fretted over the adverse impact of a rising yen on the nation's economy and exporters.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index collapsed 325.20 points, or 3.6%, to 8,824.06, for its lowest close since late April 2009. The benchmark was the worst performer among major Asian indexes in August, losing as much as 7.5%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 200.73 points, or 1%, to 20,536.49.
The day started on a poor note for regional markets after soft U.S. data -- including weak readings on personal income and Texas-area manufacturing activity -- triggered a selloff on Wall Street and hurt investor sentiment. In Japan, the yen advanced despite the Bank of Japan's efforts Monday to further ease its monetary policy. Investors had hoped for more aggressive action.
In Tokyo, Wall Street's fall and a stubbornly strong yen weighed on stocks, particularly those of companies depending on offshore sales. Among the exporters that were sold off, Canon lost 4.5% and Toshiba shed 4.8%.
Sharp Corp. dropped 5.1% after the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun newspaper reported Tuesday that Sony Corp. looked likely to shelve a plan to raise its stake in one of Sharp's liquid-crystal-display units. A Sharp spokeswoman said nothing has changed, adding that it was for Sony to comment on whether it had changed its plans. Sony Corp. fell 3.7%.
Semiconductor industry-related shares tumbled on worries about their demand outlook. Shares of U.S. chip giant Intel fell overnight after it agreed to buy Infineon Technologies' wireless unit for $1.4 billion U.S. Last week Intel slashed its outlook.
Tokyo Electron fell 5.7% and Elpida Memory slumped 7.3% in Tokyo, and Hynix Semiconductor tumbled 6.2% and Samsung Electronics dropped 2.6% in Seoul.
In Taipei, Nanya Technology lost 4.4%. Hon Hai Precision Industry gave up 6.6% on lower-than-expected second-quarter net profit, while its Hong Kong-listed unit Foxconn International Holdings sank 7% after reporting that its first-half losses had widened.
Australian shares were led lower by banks and cyclical stocks on weak cues from overseas markets, with Westpac Banking dropping 2.8% and Rio Tinto sliding 1.3%.
The market dropped even as the country's current account deficit shrank more than expected to 5.64 billion Australian dollars ($5.03 billion U.S.) in the second quarter, helped by booming exports of minerals. Official data also showed that Australia's retail sales rose at a more-than-expected rate of 0.7% in July from the previous month.
In foreign-exchange markets, the yen rose against the U.S dollar and the euro on the view that the BOJ's moves Monday won't be enough to prevent a further rally in the yen. The dollar was buying 84.27 yen from 84.55 yen late Monday in New York, while the euro was at 106.93 yen from 107.09 yen. The single currency was buying $1.2685 U.S., compared with $1.2663 U.S.
Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Tuesday defended the BOJ from criticism that its latest policy step is too modest to halt the yen's rise. "I expect that the BOJ's monetary policy step, combined with the government's new countermeasures, will begin to show its impact from now on," Mr. Noda said
Elsewhere;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index fell 11.82 points, or 0.4%, to 2,903.19
Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 6.73 points, or 0.2% to 2,950.33
Korea’s Kospi index settled back 17.38 points, or 1% to 1,742.75
Taiwan’s Taiex Index decreased 124.92 points, or 1.6%, to 7,616.28
New Zealand’s NZX index inched back 0.71 points to 3,036.10
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 let go of 48.50 points, or 1.1%, to 4,404.20
