After a buoyant start, Asian stock markets slipped into the red Thursday, on worries the recent rally might have outpaced economic growth and earnings outlook. Mostly encouraging economic reports on home sales, jobless claims and consumers from the U.S failed to impress investors.
In the absence of clear directional cues from the U.S, traders preferred to take profits on recent gains. After remaining closed on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, U.S financial markets will trade a half-day session on Friday.
The Chinese market bore the brunt of the selling in the region, dragged down by heavily-weighted banks on fund-raising worries. China Minsheng Banking Corp. plunged nearly 6%, while Bank of China and China Merchants Bank fell over 3% each. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, fell 120 points or 3.62% to 3,171, its biggest daily drop in three months.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index followed, losing 401 points or 1.78 percent after China Minsheng Bank made a disappointing market debut. The stock tumbled 3.1% below its initial public offering price.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei closed at its lowest level in more than four months, dragged down by exporters after the yen hit a 14-year high against the dollar. Concerns about more capital raising and growing uncertainty about the government's economic policies also weighed on market movement.
The Nikkei fell 58 points or 0.62% to 9,383, its lowest closing since July 16 and the broader Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues closed at 830, down 4 points or 0.5%.
Advantest eased 2.53%, Honda Motor lost over a percent, Toyota Motor fell 1.17% and Canon shed over 2%, while heavily weighted Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo casual-clothing chain, advanced 2.27%.
Asahi Glass plunged nearly 8% on a heavy volume after announcing plans to raise up to $1.1 billion through convertible bonds. However, metal stocks and trading houses such as Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corp rose sharply after gold price hit a record high, tracking a weaker dollar.
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI fell 12 points or 0.77% to 1,600, dragged down by builders on concerns about a possible decline in orders from the Middle East. Banking stocks also bore the brunt of the selling on worries a delayed rate hike may squeeze their net interest margins.
However, technology stocks such as LG Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor and LG Display rose, boosted by positive economic reports from the U.S.
Volume was moderate at 276.3 million shares worth 4 trillion won and decliners outnumbered gainers by 463 to 311. On a net basis, domestic institutions offloaded stocks worth KRW131.9 billion, while overseas investors and local retail investors bought shares worth KRW78.7 billion and KRW47.9 billion, respectively.
The Australian market closed lower amid light volumes as investors took some profits ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States. A report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which showed that new capital spending by private businesses in Australia decreased unexpectedly last quarter, also weighed on sentiment. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed at 4,709, down 14 points or 0.29% and the All Ordinaries index fell 13 points or 0.28% to 4,728.
Big miner BHP Billiton rose 1.48% after Thursday's annual general meeting, while its rival Rio Tinto fell 1.46%. Woolworths closed almost unchanged after the retailer maintained its 2009-10 guidance.
Virgin Blue Holdings advanced nearly 2% after the company said it will return to profit in FY10. Gold miner Newcrest Mining advanced 2.76% and Lihir Gold edged up 0.55% after gold price hit a record high above $1,195 an ounce.
Phone company Telstra moved up 0.89% and Australia's biggest packaging company Amcor rallied nearly 4% on defensive buying. Financials lost ground, tracking the weakness among their U.S peers overnight.
After a 3-day slide, the New Zealand market closed moderately higher, lifted by Tower after the insurer and wealth manager's annual profit beat market estimates. The stock rallied 6.59%. The benchmark NZX-50 closed at 3,127, up 12 points or 0.38%. Within the index, 32 stocks advanced and 9 fell, while 9 others closed unchanged.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose over 3% after naming a new chairman. Rural services firm PGG Wrightson jumped 4.62% and NZ Farming Systems Uruguay soared 4.55%, while retailer Michael Hill International and Pumpkin Patch advanced over 3% each. Pike River Coal added 2% and Sanford rose 1.04%, but market heavyweight Telecom shed 0.82% and Contact Energy declined 0.83%
In economic news, business confidence in New Zealand declined in November, according to survey results released Thursday by National Bank of NZ.
Meanwhile, the Indian market moved in a narrow range before going deep into the red. The benchmark Sensex is now trading near the day's lows at 16,859, down 340 points or 2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks shrugged off early weakness and moved higher on Wednesday on some upbeat economic data. Better-than-expected increase in new home sales, a sharp decline in jobless claims in November and the upward revision to pace of order growth in September aided sentiment.
However, stocks failed to sustain the upward move as traders appeared reluctant to continue buying stocks ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The Dow ended up 0.29%, the Nasdaq by 0.32% and the S&P 500 by 0.45%.
Crude oil prices fell by more than a percent to near $ 77 a barrel in late Singapore trading after rising sharply yesterday.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.