Asian markets traded mostly lower Tuesday ahead of Chinese data due out later in the session, with Japanese shares falling as the yen’s downward momentum slowed.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index eased 38.90 points, or 0.3%, to 15,611.31
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index erased 66.98 points, or 0.3%, to 23,744.19
The U.S. dollar gained 0.4% against its Japanese counterpart Monday and stabilized Tuesday to ¥103.27, within striking distance of the 2013 high of ¥103.74.
Shares of Japanese real-estate companies managed to move higher in Tokyo, with Mitsui Fudosan up 1.5%, and Mitsubishi Estate Co. up 2.2%. Local exporters, however, were lower: Honda Motor Co. lost 0.7%, and Kyocera Corp. fell 0.2%
Sydney bounced back from a Monday selloff after a profit warning from QBE Insurance that surprised the market and hit broader sentiment. The insurer fell another 11.3% Tuesday, but a number of banks helped support the market. National Australia Bank rose 0.6% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group added 0.5%.
CHINA
The region was waiting for a flurry of economic data to come out of Asia’s largest economy, with China scheduled to release November figures such as industrial output and retail sales. This will come just after the country posted its largest trade surplus for nearly five years.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index inched up 2.45 points, or 0.1%, to 2,453.32
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index docked 6.93 points, or 0.4%, to 1,993.45
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gave back 1.23 points to 8,443.39
The Singapore Straits Times Index moved lower 31.92 points, or 1%, to 3,081.72
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 11.80 points, or 0.3%, to 4,706.51
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was lower by 0.87 points to 5,143.56
