Asian markets fell Thursday after a big drop on Wall Street in the wake of a weak U.S. private-sector jobs report, reflecting caution ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls data.
Japanese equities were tormented by more volatility that also affected the yen and bond yields, dragging stocks closer toward a so-called bear market.
The Nikkei 225 fell another 110.88 points, or 0.9%, to 12,904.02, its first drop below the 13,000-point level since April 5.
The Nikkei Average, in particular, is off slightly more than 19% from the 52-week high it reached on May 23. A drop of 20% from that high would take the 225-stock benchmark into a technical bear market.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slid 230.81 points, or 1.1%, to 21,838.43
Shares of exporters were behind the day’s volatility as the U.S. dollar fluctuated in a range between ¥98.83 to ¥99.46.
Shares of Sony Corp. lost 2%, Sharp Corp. skidded 5%, and Nintendo Co. shed 2.5%, with each giving up their early gains.
The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond fell two basis points to 0.84%, also giving up early gains.
Royal Bank of Scotland economists wrote to clients that the sharp drop Wednesday in the wake of Prime Minister Abe’s speech indicated investors had expected the government to propose a corporate tax break or subsidies to stimulate capital expenditure from the private sector.
In Hong Kong, shares of China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. fell 2.8% and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. dropped 3.1%, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. shed 1.1%.
Meanwhile, the Australian market suffered from banks extending their losses after Wednesday’s report on the nation’s disappointing economic growth in the first quarter.
Shares of Westpac Banking Corp. lost 1.7% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group fell 1.3%.
Also lower were shares of Fairfax Media Ltd. , down 1.7% after the company projected a decline in full-year operating profit and launched a review of its product lineup.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index dropped 32.70 points, or 1.3%, to 2,527.84
Gemdale Corp. lost 4.4%, and Poly Real Estate Group Co. fell 3.2%, while Ping An Insurance Group Co. lost 1.2%.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index skidded 49.92 points, or 1.5%, to 3,193.51
Taiwan’s Taiex Index erased 85.77 points, or 1.1%, to 8,096.14
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index actually gained 1.75 points, to 4,455.34
Australia’s S&P/ASX faded 54.03 points, or 1.1%, to 4,781.17
Markets in Korea were closed for a holiday
