Japanese and Australian stocks fell in quiet trading yesterday as traders took their cues from Wall Street, where stock sank overnight. Many other markets in the region were closed for holidays.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed at 17,274.98 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday, down 125.43 points, or 0.72 percent, from Friday.
Stocks were lower following a drop in New York shares as mixed economic reports clouding the outlook for the US economy, Japan's biggest export market.
Traders in Tokyo took profits in recent gainers such as real estate company Mitsui Fudosan Co and machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which reported earnings last week.
"The Nikkei could fall to the 17,100-point level" if futures traders try to reap profits with speculative trades, said Teruhisa Ishikawa, investment information manager at Mizuho Investors Securities.
"If it drops further to below 17,000, you should see it as a great opportunity to hunt bargains," he said.
Trading was thin due to "Golden Week." The market was closed on Monday for a national holiday and will be closed again on tomorrow and on Friday.
In Sydney, shares dipped following Wall Street's decline and mixed commodity prices overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 20.2 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,145.8, while the All Ordinaries index dropped 18.1 points to 6,140.2.
"When you've got no leads from the US, commodity prices were pretty mixed, there's no major news coming out ... there's nothing else that really drives the market," said Austock Brokers senior client adviser Michael Heffernan.
In New Zealand, stocks were lower in relatively quiet trading as traders awaited upcoming corporate earnings for direction. The benchmark NZX-50 index slipped 2.97 points or 0.1 percent to 4,191.66.
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