Investing.com – Asian stock markets posted sharp losses on Thursday, as a lack of progress over raising the U.S. debt ceiling before a looming deadline raised fears over a possible U.S. sovereign debt default, while Japanese exporters came under pressure from the strong yen.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index sank 1.15%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index slumped 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.45%.
With the August 2 deadline looming, U.S. Republican and Democratic leaders struggled to come up with a compromise that would allow them to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling, adding to fears over a U.S. debt downgrade by ratings agencies.
Meanwhile, shares in Japanese exporters were pressured as the yen hovered close to a four-month high against the U.S. dollar, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
The world’s largest digital camera maker Canon saw shares fall 1.9%, Sony slumped 1.15%, while automakers Honda and Toyota dropped 1.9% and 2.15% respectively.
Shares in chip equipment maker Advantest tumbled 6.9% after reporting a 56.1% drop in first quarter net profit. Shares in rival Elpida Memory sank 4.85% following the results.
In Hong Kong, shares in the financial sector led losses after the China Banking Regulatory Commission banned commercial lenders from rolling over or renewing their loans to local government financing vehicles.
China Construction Bank saw shares drop 2.1%, the nation’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 1.5%, while Hong Kong-listed shares of Bank of China slumped 1.7%.
Shares of Li & Fung, which is the world’s biggest supplier of toys to major U.S. retailers, plunged 4.35%.
The outlook for European stock markets was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 futures slipped 0.1%, the FTSE 100 futures edged 0.05% lower, while Germany's DAX futures shed 0.4%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index sank 1.15%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index slumped 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.45%.
With the August 2 deadline looming, U.S. Republican and Democratic leaders struggled to come up with a compromise that would allow them to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling, adding to fears over a U.S. debt downgrade by ratings agencies.
Meanwhile, shares in Japanese exporters were pressured as the yen hovered close to a four-month high against the U.S. dollar, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
The world’s largest digital camera maker Canon saw shares fall 1.9%, Sony slumped 1.15%, while automakers Honda and Toyota dropped 1.9% and 2.15% respectively.
Shares in chip equipment maker Advantest tumbled 6.9% after reporting a 56.1% drop in first quarter net profit. Shares in rival Elpida Memory sank 4.85% following the results.
In Hong Kong, shares in the financial sector led losses after the China Banking Regulatory Commission banned commercial lenders from rolling over or renewing their loans to local government financing vehicles.
China Construction Bank saw shares drop 2.1%, the nation’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 1.5%, while Hong Kong-listed shares of Bank of China slumped 1.7%.
Shares of Li & Fung, which is the world’s biggest supplier of toys to major U.S. retailers, plunged 4.35%.
The outlook for European stock markets was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 futures slipped 0.1%, the FTSE 100 futures edged 0.05% lower, while Germany's DAX futures shed 0.4%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales.