Investing.com - Asian stock markets declined in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, as investors shunned riskier assets following Friday’s weak U.S. employment report and after official Chinese data showed inflation accelerating at a faster pace than expected last month.
During late Asian trade, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dropped 1.6%.
With markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand closed for holidays, trading volumes were thin.
Asian investors had their first chance to react to Friday’s dismal jobs report. The U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls rose by a meager 120,000 in March, the lowest since December and well below expectations for a 203,000 increase.
It was the first time since November that hiring failed to top the 200,000 level, renewing concerns over the health of the U.S. economy. The U.S. is a crucial market for the region's exporters.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%, the lowest since January 2009, from 8.3% in February. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force.
Meanwhile, official data released earlier showed that consumer price inflation in China accelerated by 3.6% in March, up from 3.2% in February and above expectations for a 3.3% increase.
The higher-than-expected reading dampened expectations Beijing will introduce fresh monetary easing measures in the near-term to prop up the world’s second largest economy.
Market players have been searching for clues in regards to Chinese growth prospects amid fears the country is headed towards a ‘hard landing’. A deeper slowdown in China, the world’s second biggest economy, would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the implementation of harsh austerity measures in Europe.
The Asian nation is set to release government data on the size of its economy on April 13.
In Japan, the Nikkei came under heavy selling pressure, declining for the fifth consecutive day, the longest losing streak since November.
The benchmark dropped to a fresh four-week low mid-way through the session as exporters and financials slumped.
Shares in automakers Honda and Nissan retreated 2.45% and 3.4% respectively, while Canon shares declined 1.7%.
Japanese exporters with exposure to the Chinese market were also hit, with mining equipment maker Komatsu dropped 1.95% and Hitachi Construction Machinery down 2.3%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declining 2.75%, while investment banks Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities lost 2% and 1.85% respectively.
On the upside, Sony saw shares reverse losses to end 0.6% higher after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the company was planning to cut its worldwide workforce by about 10,000, or by 6%, with the layoffs coming by the end of the year.
The Nikkei rallied more than 19% in the first three months of the year, its best first-quarter performance in 24 years, but the index has fallen nearly 6% since the start of April.
Looking ahead, European stock markets were set to remain closed for the Easter holiday, while U.S. equity futures pointed broadly lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 1.1%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.3% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 1.3%.
During late Asian trade, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dropped 1.6%.
With markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand closed for holidays, trading volumes were thin.
Asian investors had their first chance to react to Friday’s dismal jobs report. The U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls rose by a meager 120,000 in March, the lowest since December and well below expectations for a 203,000 increase.
It was the first time since November that hiring failed to top the 200,000 level, renewing concerns over the health of the U.S. economy. The U.S. is a crucial market for the region's exporters.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%, the lowest since January 2009, from 8.3% in February. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force.
Meanwhile, official data released earlier showed that consumer price inflation in China accelerated by 3.6% in March, up from 3.2% in February and above expectations for a 3.3% increase.
The higher-than-expected reading dampened expectations Beijing will introduce fresh monetary easing measures in the near-term to prop up the world’s second largest economy.
Market players have been searching for clues in regards to Chinese growth prospects amid fears the country is headed towards a ‘hard landing’. A deeper slowdown in China, the world’s second biggest economy, would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the implementation of harsh austerity measures in Europe.
The Asian nation is set to release government data on the size of its economy on April 13.
In Japan, the Nikkei came under heavy selling pressure, declining for the fifth consecutive day, the longest losing streak since November.
The benchmark dropped to a fresh four-week low mid-way through the session as exporters and financials slumped.
Shares in automakers Honda and Nissan retreated 2.45% and 3.4% respectively, while Canon shares declined 1.7%.
Japanese exporters with exposure to the Chinese market were also hit, with mining equipment maker Komatsu dropped 1.95% and Hitachi Construction Machinery down 2.3%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declining 2.75%, while investment banks Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities lost 2% and 1.85% respectively.
On the upside, Sony saw shares reverse losses to end 0.6% higher after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the company was planning to cut its worldwide workforce by about 10,000, or by 6%, with the layoffs coming by the end of the year.
The Nikkei rallied more than 19% in the first three months of the year, its best first-quarter performance in 24 years, but the index has fallen nearly 6% since the start of April.
Looking ahead, European stock markets were set to remain closed for the Easter holiday, while U.S. equity futures pointed broadly lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 1.1%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.3% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 1.3%.