Asian stocks edge lower as Wall St wobbles

Markets sank in Asian trade on Thursday as Wall Street’s record-breaking streak came to an end, while Tokyo was hit by a stronger yen as investors looked ahead to a Bank of Japan policy meeting. Tokyo lost 0.64 per cent, or 95.95 points, to finish at 14,973.53 and Sydney fell 0.46 per cent, or 25.19 points, to 5428.8, while Seoul eased 0.15 per cent, or 3.02 points, to 2,011.65. Hong Kong slipped 0.35 per cent, or 82.27 points, to 23,175.02 and Shanghai eased 0.16 per cent, or 3.24 points, to 2,051.71. Investors stepped back after global markets enjoyed a rally at the start of the week in response to upbeat data from the United States, China and Japan. While there was a certain amount of profit-taking, analysts suggested some of the losses could be attributed to the World Bank’s decision to trim its 2014 global growth forecast to 2.8 per cent from a January estimate of 3.2 per cent. Regional dealers were given a negative lead from New York, where all three main indexes ended lower. Japan’s Nikkei led Thursday’s retreat in Asia as the yen held on to its New York gains against the dollar.
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Taipei fell 0.27 per cent, or 25.15 points, to 9,204.65. Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturing Co. lost 1.2 per cent to Tw$123.5 while Hon Hai was 1.07 per cent lower at Tw$93.4. Wellington closed up 0.31 per cent, or 15.96 points, at 5,195.11. Air New Zealand added 1.79 per cent to NZ$2.27 and Telecom was up 1.12 per cent at NZ$2.715. Manila was closed for a public holiday, according to AFP.