Asia report: Markets mostly lower as China inflation misses for April
Most markets in Asia finished lower on Tuesday, as investors digested the latest inflation data out of China, which missed market expectations.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.12% at 20,366.48, as the yen strengthened 0.15% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 107.50.
Technology giant SoftBank Group was up 0.41%, while among the benchmark’s other major components, automation specialist Fanuc was down 0.67% and Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing was 0.62% weaker.
Carmaker Toyota was down 1.97%, after it announced a 1% year-on-year fall in operating income for the 2020 financial year.
Looking ahead, the vehicle manufacturing giant said it was eyeing up a 79.5% contraction in operating income for 2021.
“There is concern that there will be a sharp decline in many countries and regions due to the impact of Covid-19,” the Toyota board said in its statement.
“The production and sales of automobiles have already been greatly affected.
“We hope that the outbreak will be contained as early as possible,and the entire Toyota group will work as one to deal with this issue.”
Among Toyota’s peers, Nissan Motor was down 1.89%, Subaru Corporation lost 1.33%, and Suzuki Motor was off 2.47%.
The broader Topix index was 0.26% weaker by the end of the session in Tokyo, closing at 1,476.72.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 0.11% at 2,891.56, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite managed gains of 0.33% to 1,810.74.
In fresh economic data out of China, the country’s consumer price index rose 3.3% year-on-year for April, which fell short of the 3.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The producer price index for the month was down 3.1% year-on-year, which was a larger fall than the 2.6% anticipated by Reuters polling.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.68% at 1,922.17, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 1.45% to 24,245.68.
The blue-chip technology stocks were mixed in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics down 1.03% and chipmaker SK Hynix rising 1.42%.
Oil prices were higher at the end of the Asian day, with Brent crude last up 1.92% at $30.20 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate ahead 3.77% at $25.05.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.07% to 5,403.00, with the country’s ‘big four’ banks all in the red by the end of trading.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was down 1.96%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 0.71%, National Australia Bank slid 2.88%, and Westpac Banking Corporation was 2.56% weaker.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.54% to 10,818.67, led higher by cinema technology firm Vista Group, which was ahead 7.4% after it was revealed movie theatres in the country would reopen with certain social distancing restrictions soon.
Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.03% at AUD 1.5406, and the Kiwi advancing 0.1% to NZD 1.6441.