Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday, after U.S. stocks broke a five-day winning streak overnight.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gave back 95.95 points, or 0.6%, to 14,973.53, while the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, trading at ¥102.05 from ¥101.993 on Wednesday.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong retreated 82.27 points, or 0.4%, to 23,175.02, as investors turned cautious before China released retail sales and industrial output data on Friday.
The Bank of Japan kicked off its two-day meeting Thursday, but few economists expect any new actions just yet.
While there had been some talk of further easing after the April hike to the consumption tax, the economy and markets haven’t quite gone off the cliff that some had feared.
In fact, Crédit Agricole predicts no fresh policy moves "for the foreseeable future," citing what its analysts see as a more upbeat tone in recent Bank of Japan statements and reports.
Some market movers included Chinese dairy product maker China Mengniu Dairy Co., which fell 2.9% and Hong Kong property developer Hang Lung Properties, which declined 1.7%. Rival developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) dropped 1.2%, and Chinese online major Tencent Holdings ended down 0.5%.
In Japan, top investment bank Nomura Holdings climbed 2.2%, banking group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 1%, while console maker Nintendo and optics manufacturer Olympus Corp. each fell 1.5%.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index rose 0.3%, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its benchmark Official Cash Rate to 3.25%, and central bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said the kiwi economy has "considerable momentum." The New Zealand dollar advanced, buying 86.71 U.S. cents from 86.12 U.S. cents in the prior session.
In Australia, markets closed lower, after data showed the number of employed in Australia decreased by 4,800 in May. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a gain of 10,000.
CHINA
In mainland China, Shanghai stocks pulled back from their highest settlement since late April in the previous day.
The Shanghai CSI 300 slid 7.36 points, or 0.3%, to 2,153.41
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 3.02 points, or 0.2%, to 2,011.65
Singapore’s Straits Times Index recovered 2.97 points, or 0.1%, to 3,293.05
In Taiwan, the Taiex index subtracted 25.15 points, or 0.3%, to 9,204.65
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 regained 15.96 points, or 0.3%, to 5,195.11
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index stepped back 25.20 points, or 0.5%, to 5,428.80
