Asia report: Most markets fall after Wall Street sell-off

Asia-Pacific markets saw a mixed performance on Thursday, influenced by Wall Street's decline overnight.

Investors were awaiting key economic indicators from the US, including gross domestic product (GDP) data and inflation figures.

“US futures show signs of recovery following an unexpected late-session sell-off attributed to perceived overbought conditions,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

“This explanation is retrospective as traders grapple with understanding the factors driving the abrupt market shift.”

Innes said the surprise sell-off led to a reassessment of market liquidity conditions, prompting ongoing efforts to decipher the rationale behind why futures traders ‘banged the close’.

“In the aftermath of the US sell-off, Asia-Pacific stocks experienced a decline on Thursday, with Japan's Topix registering the most significant fall, particularly impacted by a widening safety scandal affecting Toyota shares.”

Most markets finish session below the waterline

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell by 1.59% to 33,140.47, while the Topix index declined by 1% to 2,325.98.

The losses on Tokyo’s benchmark were led by Toppan Printing, down 5.1%; Mazda Motor, off 4.1%; and Toyota Motor, losing 4.03%.

China showed resilience as the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.57% to reach 2,918.71, and the Shenzhen Component increased by 1.08% to 9,257.09.

Clenergy Xiamen Technology jumped 10.03% and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise rose 8.04% to lead the gains in Shanghai.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.04% to 16,621.13, with ENN Energy up 4.58%, Wharf Real Estate Investment ahead 3.97%, and Xinyi Solar rising 3.62%.

South Korea's Kospi index dipped 0.55% to 2,600.02, with HMM and Hanwha Ocean facing declines of 11.63% and 3.92%, respectively.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index retreated by 0.45% to 7,504.10, led lower by Liontown Resources, down 8.33%, and Eagers Automotive, off 7.76%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index managed gains of 0.42%, reaching 11,627.99, led by Pacific Edge and Oceania Healthcare, which gained 5.81% and 2.82%, respectively.

In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.4% on the yen, trading at JPY 143.00, while it dropped 0.23% against the Aussie to AUD 1.4824 and was off 0.08% on the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.5993.

On the oil front, Brent crude futures were last down 0.34% on ICE at $79.43 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate lost 0.36% to $73.95.

Producer prices fall slower in Korea

In economic news, South Korea's producer prices registered a year-on-year increase of 0.6% in November, marking the slowest rise in four months.

In October, producer prices had risen by 0.8%.

On a month-on-month basis, November saw a 0.4% decline in producer prices, which was a deeper drop compared to the 0.1% decrease seen in the prior month.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.