Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mostly lower during late Asian trade on Thursday, as mounting fears over the looming fiscal crisis in the U.S. and ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s debt woes dampened appetite for riskier assets.
Shares in Japan bucked the trend, as exporters rallied on the back of a softer yen.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.4%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index settled 0.9% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 1.9%.
Investors remained concerned over the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell sharply, as a steep decline in index heavyweight Tencent Holdings weighed on the market.
The internet giant saw shares tumble 6% after earnings missed estimates. Net income rose to CNY3.22 billion, below expectations for income of CNY3.33 billion.
On the upside, Europe-focused clothing retailer Esprit Holdings soared 22.6% after former chairman, Michael Ying upped his stake in the firm to 5.99% from 4.79%.
Investors also eyed the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party Congress later in the day, where Xi Jinping was named to replace Hu Jintao as head of Asia’s largest economy.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia closed at the lowest level in two months, as losses in miners and lenders weighed.
The nation’s big four banks all declined, with Australia's number 1 lender, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia falling 0.7%, while Westpac Banking Group dropped 0.85%.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slumped 1.8% and 1.75% respectively, while gold producer Newcrest Mining retreated 4.5%.
On the upside, Qantas Airways saw shares jump 4.1% after Australia's largest airline said it will spend up to AUD100 million in an on-market share buyback.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Nikkei rallied to a one-week closing high, boosted by comments from the country’s main opposition leader, Shinzo Abe.
Abe, who is expected to win next month's election said earlier he wanted the Bank of Japan adopt interest rates of zero or below zero to enhance lending.
The yen fell to a seven-month low against the U.S. Dollar, boosting the outlook for export earnings.
Toyota saw shares rally 5.1%, despite announcing a 2.77-million-vehicle recall announced on Wednesday.
On the downside, consumer electronics maker Sony saw shares plunge 8.9% after announcing plans to issue the equivalent of nearly USD1.85 billion in convertible bonds to raise capital.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a lower open, as markets were jittery ahead of the release of economic growth data from the euro zone.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.6% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.6%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.6%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation, as well as preliminary data on third quarter GDP. Germany and Italy were also to release individual GDP reports.
The U.S. was to release reports on initial jobless claims, consumer price inflation, crude oil stockpiles, in addition to data on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to be closely watched for any indications on the future possible direction of monetary policy.
Shares in Japan bucked the trend, as exporters rallied on the back of a softer yen.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.4%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index settled 0.9% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 1.9%.
Investors remained concerned over the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell sharply, as a steep decline in index heavyweight Tencent Holdings weighed on the market.
The internet giant saw shares tumble 6% after earnings missed estimates. Net income rose to CNY3.22 billion, below expectations for income of CNY3.33 billion.
On the upside, Europe-focused clothing retailer Esprit Holdings soared 22.6% after former chairman, Michael Ying upped his stake in the firm to 5.99% from 4.79%.
Investors also eyed the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party Congress later in the day, where Xi Jinping was named to replace Hu Jintao as head of Asia’s largest economy.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia closed at the lowest level in two months, as losses in miners and lenders weighed.
The nation’s big four banks all declined, with Australia's number 1 lender, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia falling 0.7%, while Westpac Banking Group dropped 0.85%.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slumped 1.8% and 1.75% respectively, while gold producer Newcrest Mining retreated 4.5%.
On the upside, Qantas Airways saw shares jump 4.1% after Australia's largest airline said it will spend up to AUD100 million in an on-market share buyback.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Nikkei rallied to a one-week closing high, boosted by comments from the country’s main opposition leader, Shinzo Abe.
Abe, who is expected to win next month's election said earlier he wanted the Bank of Japan adopt interest rates of zero or below zero to enhance lending.
The yen fell to a seven-month low against the U.S. Dollar, boosting the outlook for export earnings.
Toyota saw shares rally 5.1%, despite announcing a 2.77-million-vehicle recall announced on Wednesday.
On the downside, consumer electronics maker Sony saw shares plunge 8.9% after announcing plans to issue the equivalent of nearly USD1.85 billion in convertible bonds to raise capital.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a lower open, as markets were jittery ahead of the release of economic growth data from the euro zone.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.6% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.6%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.6%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation, as well as preliminary data on third quarter GDP. Germany and Italy were also to release individual GDP reports.
The U.S. was to release reports on initial jobless claims, consumer price inflation, crude oil stockpiles, in addition to data on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to be closely watched for any indications on the future possible direction of monetary policy.