Japanese stocks fell on Tuesday, failing to hit a new high for the year, while the Australian dollar picked up after the Reserve Bank of Australia dampened speculation that it’s close to intervening in the currency markets.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index faded 103.89 points, or 0.7%, to 15,515.24
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index docked 3.17 points to 23,681.28
After growing 1.6% over the previous three sessions, the U.S. dollar retreated from the recent highs against the yen. Having climbed as high as ¥101.92 on Monday — its highest level since May — the greenback eased to ¥101.52 after a strong run that had seen it gain for nine of the past 12 sessions.
That weakening trend for the yen resulted in substantial gains for Japanese stocks
Exporters that outperformed the broader market on Monday pulled back on Tuesday due to the stronger currency. Olympus Corp.lost 0.6%, and Tokyo Electron fell 0.7%.
Also in Tokyo, GS Yuasa fell 1.2% after Credit Suisse revised down its rating for the battery maker to underperform from neutral.
Fujifilm Holdings jumped 4.3% higher after a Nikkei report said that the company will create cancer treatments jointly with one of the world’s leading cancer hospitals, MD Anderson Cancer Center in the U.S.
Although stocks in Sydney were little moved, there was some movement in the local currency. The Australian dollar rose back to 92 U.S. cents after Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Phillip Lowe said that the threshold for the central bank intervening in the currency market was "fairly high."
Talk of possible intervention by RBA Governor Glenn Stevens last week, along with slowing growth in Chinese manufacturing activity, has weighed on the Aussie in recent sessions. By early Tuesday afternoon, the currency was at 91.90 U.S. cents.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index stepped back 1.21 points, or 0.1%, to 2,387.42
Korea’s Kospi Index added 6.66 points, or 0.3%, to 2,022.64
Taiwan’s Taiex Index moved forward 60.51 points, or 0.7%, to 8,248.02
The Singapore Straits Times Index backtracked 7.14 points, or 0.2%, to 3,173.51
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 23.13 points, or 0.5%, to 4,790.75
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 inched ahead 4.18 points, or 0.1%, to 5,357.01
