Investing.com - Shares in Asia traded weaker on Thursday after U.S. Justice Department Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to take over the investigation of Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election, though regional data lifted sentiment later in the day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.25% as the yen held most gains this week even as it drifted lower on the day. In South Korea, the Kospi eased 0.52%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.56%, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.32%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.21 percent. But Fairfax Media shares surged 6.68% to A$1.2375 after Reuters reported it was considering a second surprise takeover bid by U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for as much as A$2.87 billion ($2.13 billion), valuing the company at A$1.225-A$1.25 a share. That compared with an earlier rival bid of A$1.20 a share from TPG Capital Management and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.
U.S. futures were mostly flat. Dow futures edged up 0.09% and S&P futures eased 0.04%, though risk sentiment was high.
"Market participants figure that there is virtually no chance of any U.S. company tax cuts getting through the Congress while President Trump is defending the allegations of an obstruction of justice - an impeachable offence," Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note on Thursday.
Australia reported jobs data with a surge of 37,400 jobs, compared to an expected 5,000 jobs added in April, sending the unemployment rate down to 5.7% from a steady of 5.9% seen, under a participation rate of 64.8%, a tad higher than 64.7% forecast. Later, China reported house prices data for April that showed a 10.7% gain, down from an increase of 11.3% in March.
Earlier, Japan reported gross domestic product data for the first quarter rose a batter than expected 0.5%, compared with a provisional 0.4% gain seen quarter-on-quarter and at a 2.2% annual pace, beating the 1.7% increase seen year-on-year.
Overnight, U.S. stocks slumped on Wednesday, as investors ditched risk assets amid concerns that President Trump’s economic agenda could be delayed amid rising U.S. political turmoil.
In what was a quiet day for economic data release, investors focused on reports that President Donald Trump asked the then-FBI Director James Comey to shut down an investigation into the actions of former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.
Investors fled risk assets, on the back of concerns that rising U.S. political turmoil could cause a delay to President Trump’s ability to deliver on his pro-growth economic agenda, which includes tax-reform and deregulation, widely seen as a boon for equities.
Meanwhile, investors’ expectations dampened that the Federal Reserve would adopt an aggressive interest rate hike policy, after expectations for a June rate hike fell below 60% from 80% in the previous week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,606.93, down 1.78%. The S&P 500 closed more than 1.5% lower while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.5%.