By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Thursday after lackluster Chinese and Japanese economic data added to heightened worries about slackening global growth, sapping investors' appetite for riskier assets.
With the fresh slide in Asian equities, spreadbetters forecast a lower open for Britain's FTSE (FTSE), Germany's DAX (GDAXI) and France's CAC (FCHI).
The latest policy response to rising global risks came from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), which cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent and signaled more easing if China's economy slows further.
Those risks were highlighted in Thursday's data. China's consumer inflation in August edged up, but producer prices fell for the 42nd straight month in the latest sign that deflation remains a significant risk for the world's second-largest economy.
Furthermore, Japan's key gauge of capital spending unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in July, signaling that the economy is struggling to get back on track after contracting in the second quarter.
With many economies facing headwinds, ANZ bank economists revised down their global growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017, expecting growth to remain around 3.5 percent "over the next couple of years."
"Previously we had growth edging up to 4 percent by 2017. In the near term the risks are skewed to further downward revision," the economists at ANZ wrote.
Amid the somber mood, the previous day's policy-hopes driven surge in the Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) flagged and the shares fell were down 0.4 percent. The losses were limited for now, however, as soft indicators fanned expectations for extra government stimulus.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (MIAPJ0000PUS) was 1.4 percent lower after rallying 3.2 percent on Wednesday. South Korea's Kospi (KS11) bucked the trend and rose 0.6 percent. Australian shares (AXJO) fell 2.0 percent, weighed down by sagging banking stocks.
"I think those Chinese concerns are still front and center," said Damien Boey, equity strategist at Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) in Sydney.
"It's not just Australian banks, it's developed world banks that are actually taking a hit on China concerns," Boey said.
Tokyo's Nikkei (N225) fell 2.7 percent in the wake of the downbeat Japanese machinery orders numbers, after jumping 7.7 percent the day before amid hopes for fresh government stimulus.
"The Bank of Japan may ease policy further in October, but additional easing would not be enough to achieve its inflation target," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo.
Elsewhere, Standard & Poor's stripped Brazil of its investment-grade credit rating on Wednesday, further hampering President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to regain market trust and pull Latin America's largest economy from recession.
While the RBNZ rate cut was widely anticipated, the central bank also said a further fall by the New Zealand dollar was "appropriate", sending the kiwi buckling.
The New Zealand dollar dived about 2 percent and last fetched $0.6278
The Australian dollar suffered collateral damage and retreated 0.3 percent to $0.6996
The U.S. dollar was little changed at 120.60
The Turkish lira
Downbeat data from Asia's largest economies weighed on oil, with U.S. crude (CLc1) sliding 0.7 percent to $43.85 a barrel after a bruising 4 percent decline overnight.
Oil prices are off more than 50 percent since June 2014, with a global supply glut also weighing heavily on the commodity.
In recent weeks, oil rallied in volatile trading after falling to 6-1/2-year lows when a stock market slide in China sent global equities and commodities prices tumbling.