Asia report: Markets lower after failed North Korea missile test

Markets in Asia finished in the red on Wednesday, as North Korea tested another missile and a stronger yen weighed on Japanese stocks.

The Nikkei 225 was down 2.13% to 19,041.38, with the broader Topix down 2.12% at 1,530.2.

A stronger yen was the catalyst for much of the decrease - it was last 0.38% stronger at JPY 111.28 per $1.

Defence stocks in Japan were mostly lower, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries down 3.92%, Komatsu off 1.96% and ShinMaywa Industries falling 2.21%.

The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its January meeting early in the day.

They suggested that the board members were at best lukewarm on raising the 10-year government bond yield targets to match gains anticipated in US Treasury yields.

Exports from Japan were up 11.3% year-on-year, fresh data showed, which was the third month of gains on the trot.

Imports were also up 1.2% year-on-year.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 0.5% at 3,245.45, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 0.29% to 2,037.89.

In South Korea, the Kospi was off 0.46% at 2,168.30, with defence stocks finishing mixed but still beating the benchmark after the earlier missile launch.

Firstec was up 1.21%, Speco was off 0.4% and Victek lost 1.88%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished down 1.11% at 24,320.41.

Reports emerged during the session that North Korea appeared to have conducted a missile launch, though it looked to have failed.

“A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch,” a US military spokesman was widely quoted as saying.

Oil prices were lower during Asian trading, with Brent crude down 1.45% at $50.23 and West Texas Intermediate off 1.35% at $47.60.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.56% at 5,684.51, with the weighty energy, financials and materials subindexes losing out.

The big four regional banks were all lower, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group down 2.57%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia losing 2.03%, National Australia Bank 1.58% lower and Westpac 2.42% softer.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.3% to 7,060.83, with the big four banks also losing out on the Wellington bourse.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corporation were both down 2.7%.

The down under dollars were both weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie losing 0.35% to AUD 1.3049 and the Kiwi weakening 0.17% to NZD 1.4227 per $1.