Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mostly lower during late Asian trade on Thursday, as appetite for riskier assets weakened following the release of disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.
Regional equities were already on the back foot following a poor performance on Wall Street, after disappointing employment and manufacturing data weighed.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended down 0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.8% lower.
Midway through the session, data showed that China’s final HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index fell to 50.4 in April from a flash reading of 50.5 and down from 51.6 in March.
The disappointing data came one day after a government report showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 50.6 in April from 50.9 in March.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., weaker-than-expected data on employment and manufacturing activity fuelled concerns over the outlook for growth.
The Federal Reserve recommitted to its USD85 billion a month asset purchase program on Wednesday and indicated that it could increase or decrease the monthly amount as deemed necessary.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended lower for the fourth consecutive day, as the yen hovered near a two-week high against the U.S. dollar. The greenback moved further away from the key JPY100 level, with USD/JPY falling to a session low of 97.07.
A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng came under pressure, led by losses in raw material producers.
Jiangxi Copper Company saw shares drop 1.2% after copper prices fell to the lowest level since October 2011, amid concerns over a slowdown in demand from top consumer China.
Oil majors CNOOC and PetroChina also contributed to losses, falling 2.2% and 3% respectively.
Elsewhere, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index inched further away from last week’s five-year high as miners came under pressure following the downbeat China data.
Australian commodity producers are heavily reliant on Chinese demand for raw materials.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slumped 2% and 2.1% respectively, while Medusa Mining tumbled 9.1% and Mirabela Nickel plunged 11.1%.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a mixed open, as investors awaited the outcome of a European Central Bank later in the day amid expectations for a rate cut.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.3%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.2% at the open.
Spain and Italy were to release data on manufacturing activity later Thursday, while France was to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.
The U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and official data on the trade balance.
Regional equities were already on the back foot following a poor performance on Wall Street, after disappointing employment and manufacturing data weighed.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended down 0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.8% lower.
Midway through the session, data showed that China’s final HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index fell to 50.4 in April from a flash reading of 50.5 and down from 51.6 in March.
The disappointing data came one day after a government report showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 50.6 in April from 50.9 in March.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., weaker-than-expected data on employment and manufacturing activity fuelled concerns over the outlook for growth.
The Federal Reserve recommitted to its USD85 billion a month asset purchase program on Wednesday and indicated that it could increase or decrease the monthly amount as deemed necessary.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended lower for the fourth consecutive day, as the yen hovered near a two-week high against the U.S. dollar. The greenback moved further away from the key JPY100 level, with USD/JPY falling to a session low of 97.07.
A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng came under pressure, led by losses in raw material producers.
Jiangxi Copper Company saw shares drop 1.2% after copper prices fell to the lowest level since October 2011, amid concerns over a slowdown in demand from top consumer China.
Oil majors CNOOC and PetroChina also contributed to losses, falling 2.2% and 3% respectively.
Elsewhere, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index inched further away from last week’s five-year high as miners came under pressure following the downbeat China data.
Australian commodity producers are heavily reliant on Chinese demand for raw materials.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slumped 2% and 2.1% respectively, while Medusa Mining tumbled 9.1% and Mirabela Nickel plunged 11.1%.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a mixed open, as investors awaited the outcome of a European Central Bank later in the day amid expectations for a rate cut.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.3%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.2% at the open.
Spain and Italy were to release data on manufacturing activity later Thursday, while France was to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.
The U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and official data on the trade balance.