Asian stocks declined Tuesday as weak manufacturing data from the U.S. and other parts of the world added to concerns the global economy was slowing down and would affect the region’s exporters.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average docked 120.42 points, or 1.2%, to end the session at 9,844.59
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 241.91 points, or 1.1%, to 22,421.50
Japanese exporters also strained under the weight of a strengthened yen, which fueled speculation that Tokyo might intervene to curb the currency’s rise.
The broad losses came as stocks on Wall Street ended lower Monday after the new-orders component of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing report fell to its lowest level for 25 months.
Purchasing managers’ index data from Brazil and the U.K. also showed a contraction in July manufacturing activity. Coming on the heels of weak figures from China, India and Taiwan on Monday, the data deepened worries about the global economy.
One expert said that in Asia, the picture was a little more reassuring as new orders were holding up and employment growth was steady.
"But weakness in the West will weigh on exports in the coming months," he said.
Among shares of companies dependent on overseas demand, shares of Hyundai Motor Co. tumbled 4.9% and Kia Motors Corp. lost 4% in Seoul, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. dropped 2.1% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 1.7% in Taipei.
Among Japanese exporters, Nikon Corp. shrank 2.9%, Komatsu Ltd. lost 1.9% and Nintendo Co. dropped 2.6%.
Those losses came as the U.S. dollar traded well below the ¥78 yen level in Asia. The greenback, which hit an overnight low of ¥76.27 -- just off its all-time low of ¥76.25 last March -- was buying ¥77.23 in Tokyo late trading.
The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that the Japanese government was preparing to intervene in the currency market to weaken the Japanese yen, and the Bank of Japan could offer more monetary easing.
Honda Motor Co. fell 0.5% in Tokyo, outperforming the broad market after posting a steep drop in quarterly net profit that beat analysts’ forecasts.
Meanwhile, shares of HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 1.2% in Hong Kong and provided support to the broader market a day after the company reported better-than-expected first-half results and announced a plan to cut 30,000 jobs by 2013
Several resource-sector stocks also fell in the region after commodity prices declined in U.S. trading.
Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. shed 2.8% in Tokyo; and BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. shed 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively, in Sydney.
CHINA
Meanwhile, a decline for Chinese banks weighed on stocks in Hong Kong as well as Shanghai.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index doffed 21.34 points, or 0.7%, to 2,956.38
Mainland China-based banks were mostly lower in Hong Kong, with shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. dropping 3.7% following media reports that Goldman Sachs International had sold 638 million Hong Kong-listed shares of the Chinese lender for a client.
Reuters cited a source as saying that Goldman acted on behalf of American Express Co. ICBC shares fell 0.9% in Shanghai.
The drop also came after daily newspaper La Nacion was cited as reporting that the Chinese bank was close to acquiring the Argentinian unit of South African lender Standard Bank Group Ltd. in a deal valued at up to $800 million U.S.
Shares of energy major Cnooc Ltd. dropped 1%, and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, gave up 2.7% in Hong Kong, with Chalco also losing 1.4% in Shanghai trading.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index let go of 38.18 points, or 1.2%, to 2,121.27
Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell 116.66 points, or 1.3%, to 8,584.72
Singapore’s Straits Times Index went south 38.18 points, or 1.2%, to 3,177.09
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index let loose 16.83 points, or 0.5%, to 3,397
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index settled 64.20 points, or 1.4%, to 4,433.60
