TOKYO: Asian stocks mostly fell Thursday, battered by weak U.S. economic data and Wall Street’s retreat from near record highs.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2 per cent to 19,508.88 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.1 per cent to 24,561.82. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6 per cent to 2,030.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.3 per cent to 5,898.50 while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 per cent to 3,672.75. Markets in Southeast Asia were mixed. India and Taiwan fell.
: The U.S. Commerce Department reported that orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in February for the third time in four months. Demand for commercial aircraft, cars and machinery waned. That data came after a survey showed Chinese manufacturing at its weakest in nearly a year.
“Worryingly, the dramatic falls in US shares are pointing to a sea change in sentiment,” said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC MARKETS
in Sydney. “Previous poor data spurred buying, as investors speculated weaker economic indicators pushed back the Fed’s tightening timetable,” he said. “The fall in February durable goods orders reported overnight instead saw investors bail out, possibly reflecting the near record highs of US shares. Whatever the cause, it is evident that bad news is now bad news again.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 30.45 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 2,061.05. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 292.60 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 17,718.54, while the Nasdaq composite fell 118.21 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 4,876.52. It was the worst day for U.S. stocks since March 10, when speculation over the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates helped knock the S&P 500 down 1.7 per cent.
