Investing.com - Asian stocks eased lower Thursday, calmed by a timid overnight session on Wall Street with Japanese exporters falling on a stronger yen.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.7% 8,996.76, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8% to 4,270.80, and South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 1.1% to 1,871.65.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index bucked the local trend, adding 0.4% to 20.289.03
Along with the Nikkei, the broader-based Topix Index of all issues listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.7% to 771.17.
A directionless session on Wall Street Wednesday eased Asian market sentiment after last week’s rocky ride, but disappointment with Tuesday’s meeting between French and German leaders remained in play as the European debt crisis appeared unlikely to reach a quick solution.
By the end of Wednesday’s U.S. trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.04%, to close at 11,410. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.47% to 2,511, and the S&P 500 eased up 0.09% to 1,194.
Earlier, Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported that the nation’s trade surplus hit USD947.9 million, as Japanese exports fell 3.3% in July while imports were up 9.9% during the same period.
Brewers in the region took center stage as Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. announced it would by New Zealand beverage maker Independent Liquor Ltd. for USD1.28 billion.
Asahi, Japan’s largest beer-maker, saw its shares rise 1.8%.
Meanwhile in Sydney, Foster’s Group Ltd. eked out a 0.2% gain after the brewer’s rejection of a takeover offer by SABMiller PLC
Exporters led losses on theTokyo Stock Exchange as USD/JPY hovered below 77, the level that prompted the Bank of Japan to intervene in the market August 4 to weaken the local currency.
Japanese exporters see profits dwindle during periods of a strong yen, as earnings must be repatriated from overseas into local currency.
Electronics giant Sony Corp. dropped 1.7%, Panasonic Corp. lost 1.48% and Toshiba Corp. fell 2.67%.
The outlook for European stocks was pessimistic. France’s CAC 40 futures was lower by 0.57% to 3,211.60, Britain’s FTSE 100 futures fell 0.59% to 5,277, while Germany’s DAX retreated 0.52% to 5,880.20.