Investing.com - Shares in Asia drifted lower on Thursday in cautious sentiment on economic growth prospects.
The S&P ASX/200 fell 0.49%, while the Nikkei 225 was down 0.15%.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.53%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was last down 0.35%.
In Japan, the adjusted current account for April came in at a surplus of ¥1.89 trillion, narrower than a surplus of ¥1.90 trillion seen. Of note, foreign investments in Japanese stocks fell ¥434.6 billion in April, while bond purchases by foreigners reached ¥270.3 billion.
Also in Australia, MI inflation expectations edged down to 3.2% from 3.6%.
The yuan rose against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the People's Bank of China set the fixing stronger for a second consecutive day at 6.4959 compared with 6.5209 previously, the biggest daily increase since a gain of 0.56% on April 29.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, erasing considerable gains from the previous session, as major declines in Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) shares triggered a sell-off in the retail sector and a disappointing session by Walt Disney Company (NYSE:NYSE:DIS) weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Dow lost 217.23 or 1.21% to 17,711.12, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 49.19 or 1.02% to 4,760.69, halting a three-day winning streak.
The S&P 500 Composite index dropped 19.93 or 0.96% to 2,064.46, as nine of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Consumer Services, Financials and Health Care industries lagged, each falling more than 1% on the session. Stocks in the Utilities sectors led, moving fractionally higher.