Asian stocks fell on Friday, as a slump in commodities and the fall of China’s factory gauge to a 15-month low heightened concern global economic growth is slowing.
Mitsubishi Corp, Japan’s biggest trading house that gets about 43 percent of revenue from energy and metals, slipped 2.9 percent in Tokyo. Newcrest Mining Ltd, Australia’s largest gold producer, sank 4.8 percent in Sydney, as the bullion dropped.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.74 percent to 142.51 on Friday in Hong Kong. The gauge fell 1.5 percent this week as concern over supply gluts sent gold and oil tumbling. Adding to commodity investors’ pain is a resurgent US dollar, with focus shifting to next week’s US Federal Reserve policy meeting amid buoyant economic data.
“With the US dollar likely to keep rising as the Fed prepares to raise rates, there’s still some sort of weakness to come in the commodity space,” Angus Gluskie, managing director at White Funds Management Pty in Sydney, said by phone. “The earnings outlook in the US is also somewhat subdued as a result of the strong US dollar. We’re not likely to see a massive rally in the next few months.”
Shares in Taiwan ended lower on Friday, amid lingering fears that earnings misses on Wall Street could create more volatility, dealers said.
A move by foreign institutional investors to raise the amount of their short-position contracts in the futures market also affected local investors, they said.
The TAIEX fell 0.3 percent to 8,767.86 on Friday, ending the week 3.1 percent lower from 9,045.98 on July 17, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland equities traded in Hong Kong dropped 1.3 percent on Friday, extending declines for a sixth week, while the territory’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.1 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.3 percent. The preliminary purchasing managers’ index from Caixin Media and Markit Economics was at 48.2 for this month, down from 49.4 the previous month.
“The PMI data was rather poor and surprised most analysts,” said Gerry Alfonso, a sales trader at Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co in Shanghai. “If that trend continues over the next few months then it would reasonable to assume that the economy was in a weaker shape than many analysts forecasted.”
Japan’s TOPIX slid 0.5 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 0.9 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.4 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index and Singapore’s Straits Times Index each lost 0.1 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Kuala Lumpur lost 0.1 percent; Bangkok shed 0.5 percent; Jakarta retreated 0.9 percent; and Mumbai fell 0.9 percent. Manila bucked the trend, edging up 0.2 percent.
Additional reporting by CNA and AFP
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