Investing.com - Asian stock markets edged lower during late Asian trade on Wednesday, as fears over the outlook for global growth weighed on appetite for riskier assets, while uncertainty over whether Spain will request a bailout lingered.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.5%.
Spanish media outlets reported Tuesday that Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told members of his political party that he will not request external financial assistance this weekend.
Market players have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation.
Meanwhile, investors were also expecting ratings agency Moody’s to announce the results of a ratings review on Spain. Moody’s said in August its review on Spain’s Baa3 rating would continue through the end of September. A move below Baa3 would drop Spain’s debt into junk.
Market participants also looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to sustain stimulus even after the U.S. economy recovers.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei settled at a three-week low, as traders were hesitant to make big moves ahead of a number of key risk events later in the week, including a Bank of Japan policy-setting meeting on October 5.
Shares in Nippon Paper dropped 2.45% on a report it may miss a profit forecast.
On the upside, index heavyweight Fast Retailing climbed 3.7% after the Nikkei reported that the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain is set to generate JPY1 trillion in sales for the year ended August 30.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index swung between modest gains and losses after remaining closed for the previous two sessions for a public holiday.
Markets in mainland China will remain closed until the end of the week for the mid-Autumn Festival.
Data released earlier showed that China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 53.7 in September from 56.3 in August, adding to concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China.
A deeper slowdown in China, the world’s second biggest economy, would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the euro zone’s ongoing debt crisis.
Losses in Chinese financials weighed, with China’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shedding 0.3%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings declined 0.5%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia came off a 14-month high, as miners were dragged lower after official data showed that the nation’s trade deficit blew out to the widest level in three-and-a-half years.
However, gains in Australian lenders supported the market, a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% to 3.25%, amid uncertainty over the global economy.
In Europe, regional markets were broadly lower after the open. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.35%, while Germany's DAX slumped 0.35%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on retail sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls and the Institute of Supply Management was to produce data on U.S. service sector activity.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.5%.
Spanish media outlets reported Tuesday that Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told members of his political party that he will not request external financial assistance this weekend.
Market players have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation.
Meanwhile, investors were also expecting ratings agency Moody’s to announce the results of a ratings review on Spain. Moody’s said in August its review on Spain’s Baa3 rating would continue through the end of September. A move below Baa3 would drop Spain’s debt into junk.
Market participants also looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to sustain stimulus even after the U.S. economy recovers.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei settled at a three-week low, as traders were hesitant to make big moves ahead of a number of key risk events later in the week, including a Bank of Japan policy-setting meeting on October 5.
Shares in Nippon Paper dropped 2.45% on a report it may miss a profit forecast.
On the upside, index heavyweight Fast Retailing climbed 3.7% after the Nikkei reported that the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain is set to generate JPY1 trillion in sales for the year ended August 30.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index swung between modest gains and losses after remaining closed for the previous two sessions for a public holiday.
Markets in mainland China will remain closed until the end of the week for the mid-Autumn Festival.
Data released earlier showed that China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 53.7 in September from 56.3 in August, adding to concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China.
A deeper slowdown in China, the world’s second biggest economy, would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the euro zone’s ongoing debt crisis.
Losses in Chinese financials weighed, with China’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shedding 0.3%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings declined 0.5%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia came off a 14-month high, as miners were dragged lower after official data showed that the nation’s trade deficit blew out to the widest level in three-and-a-half years.
However, gains in Australian lenders supported the market, a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% to 3.25%, amid uncertainty over the global economy.
In Europe, regional markets were broadly lower after the open. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.35%, while Germany's DAX slumped 0.35%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on retail sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls and the Institute of Supply Management was to produce data on U.S. service sector activity.