Asian stock markets mostly fell Monday following Wall Street's Friday decline. Concerned investors awaited news of the timing of a U.S. rate hike while early Chinese gains evaporated and the yen dropped.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent to 3,155.54 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.5 percent to 17,704.94. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed at 20,843.01 while Seoul's Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,888.95. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6 percent to 5,009.00 and Singapore, Taiwan and Manila also fell.
End to Chinese Rout
In a statement over the weekend, People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan pointed to an end to the rout in Chinese equities and attributed the prevention of a free-fall to state intervention.
According to Yuji Saito, executive director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole SA in Tokyo, “The first reaction to the Chinese open is relief. Whether this will hold or not remains to be seen.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.6 percent by 11:34 a.m. in Tokyo after the early gains in China saw a 1 percent rise. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, the measure that tracks Chinese companies added 0.5 percent its lowest close since July 2013.
Japan’s Topix index fluctuated as the yen retreated 0.2 percent to 119.26 per dollar. Friday saw Japan’s currency capping its biggest weekly advance this year.
Chances of a rate hike by the Fed for September seem to be fading quickly. Friday’s U.S. payrolls report was mixed, as fewer workers than estimated were added, while the unemployment rate dropped and earnings grew.