Asian stocks closed lower on Friday, with sentiment hit by overnight losses on Wall Street and a series of much weaker-than-expected Japanese economic data, dealers said.
They said a sharp downward revision to third quarter growth figures and disappointing core private sector machinery orders raised fresh doubts about Japan's economic recovery and made for additionally cautious trade ahead of a key US employment report later in the day.
The expectation is that the US jobs report will show the US economy slowing in a steady, controlled fashion, allowing the markets to adjust gradually.
That means, however, that any unpleasant surprise could prove a nasty shock for Wall Street and then global markets.
At current record or multi-year highs, there is plenty of room for profit-taking, making investors perhaps more susceptible to bad news rather than good so the risks are clear.
South Korea, down 1.41 percent, was among the worst performers among the major bourses, with Sydney off 0.72 percent after an overnight sell-off in the metals hit the top mining companies.
The Chinese markets ran into very heavy profit-taking, with the Shanghai Composite Index down nearly 3 percent on rumors the central bank was ready to hike interest rates again in order to keep liquidity in check.
TAIPEI
Share prices closed 0.65 percent lower as caution gripped the market following Wall Street's second consecutive overnight fall and ahead of yesterday's key mayoral elections for Taipei and Kaohsiung, dealers said.
The weighted index shed 50.22 points at 7,636.30, off a low of 7,658.04 and a high of 7,601.30, on turnover of US$105.63 billion.
Declines led gains 655 to 540, with 216 stocks unchanged.
Dealers said caution helped fuel profit-taking while lackluster sales figures posted by some companies for last month dampened bargain-hunting interest ahead of yesterday's polls.
"Pre-election caution should be the factor behind today's falls," Beyond Asset Management Co president Michael On said. "Taking their cue from the New York market's decline, [investors]continued to lock in profits here while corporate prospects during the slow season remained a concern."
He said December is usually a slow month for most companies.
However, On said that the outcome of the elections may only have a short-term effect on the bourse and that going forward, the market's direction will be more influenced by economic and corporate fundamentals.
TOKYO
Share prices closed down 0.34 percent as investors reacted nervously to a smaller-than-expected rise in local machinery orders and a downgrade to third-quarter growth, dealers said.
They said the market was also on edge ahead of key US jobs data due out later on Friday which were expected to set the near term tone for Wall Street.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 fell 55.54 points to 16,417.82. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section companies lost 6.43 points or 0.40 percent to 1,616.34.
Decline outnumbered gainers 1,011 to 572, with 125 stocks flat.
Volume was 2.39 billion shares, compared to 1.57 billion on Thursday, with the special quotation for the settlement of this month's futures and options contract inflating turnover.
Before the opening bell, the government said real GDP in the third quarter to September grew by a revised 0.2 percent from the previous quarter and was up by an annualized rate of 0.8 pct.
RSS