Chinese stocks retreated Thursday, prompting a pullback in some other Asian markets after data showing consumer prices rose more than expected.
The Nikkei 225 drew back 94.21 points, or 0.7%, to 14,191.48
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 32.87 points, or 0.1%, to 23,211.48
Stocks in Sydney dropped as monthly employment data showing the Australian economy added substantially more jobs than expected in April. The strong employment data raised doubts the central bank would lower interest rates further after trimming the benchmark cash rate Tuesday.
Among property developers, China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. shed 1.2% in Hong Kong.
Shares of Toyota, which reported that its profit more than doubled in the quarter ending March 31 on the back of strong sales in the U.S. and a weakened yen, gave up early gains to finish 1.4% lower.
Among other firms that also rely heavily on international sales and are adversely affected by a stronger yen, Canon Inc. fell 1% and Honda Motor Corp. dropped 1.3%.
Sony Corp. ended 1.4% lower ahead of its quarterly earnings report.
Tire maker Bridgestone Corp. tumbled 6.6% and Toshiba Corp. dropped 4.9% after their earnings reports Wednesday fell short of expectations
Among gainers, Daikin Industries Ltd. soared 6% after the company posted an increase in annual profit.
Resona Holdings Inc. added 1.5% after the Nikkei reported the financial-services firm planned in five years to repay the public funds it owes the government.
In Seoul, banks climbed after the Bank of Korea’s interest-rate cut by a quarter-point to 2.5%, where most economists had expected no change.
Shares of KB Financial Group Inc. rose 3.1%, and Shinhan Financial Group Co. gained 2.5%.
In Sydney, banks were mostly lower after data showing the local economy added as many as 50,100 jobs in April, trouncing expectations for an addition of 12,000 jobs. The data came after 36,000 jobs were lost in March.
National Australia Bank Ltd. dropped 2.1% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group lost 2.8%.
Advancers included News Corp., shares of which climbed 2.9%.
The media conglomerate posted fiscal third-quarter earnings excluding items of 36 cents U.S. a share, beating analyst expectations by one cent a share. Revenue totaled $9.54 billion U.S., ahead of projections of $9.14 billion U.S. News Corp. is the owner of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.
Also in Australia, Billabong International Ltd. requested that trading in its shares be suspended, pending an announcement related to transactions affecting the surfwear retailer, which has been in takeover talks.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index dipped 15.01 points, or 0.6%, to 2,527.78
Government data released earlier in the day showed China’s consumer price index rose 2.4% in April from the year-ago period, driven by food prices. The producer price index, which measures wholesale prices, dropped a sharper-than-expected 2.6%.
Chinese property developers fell after the inflation data. Gemdale Corp lost 2.7% in Shanghai, China Vanke Co.’s yuan-denominated A shares retreated 1.3% in Shenzhen
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 19.76 points, or 0.6%, to 3,432.78
Taiwan’s Taiex Index took on 18.80 points, or 0.2%, to 8,285.89
Korea’s Kospi Index gathered 23 points, or 1.2%, to 1,979.45
The New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index retreated 0.94 points to 4,639.34
Australia’s S&P/ASX slid 1.37 points to 5,198.38
