Asian stocks yesterday fell while European markets started the week higher after another rout hit Wall Street, as a highly anticipated US job market update added to worries about the economy.
A disappointing revenue forecast from chipmaker Broadcom Inc added to the negative sentiment, dealing another blow to a technology sector already under pressure over concerns a rally this year might have been overdone.
Taipei’s TAIEX closed down 1.36 percent at 21,144.44.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Nikkei 225 index was hovering at about its lowest level in almost a month during morning trading, before slipping 0.5 percent to close at 36,215.75.
Japan’s GDP grew by an annualized 2.9 percent in the second quarter, revised data released yesterday by the Japanese Cabinet Office showed.
That was below expectations.
Stocks in Chinese markets also racked up losses after worse-than-expected inflation data disappointed investors.
Data released yesterday by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics showed that deflationary pressure continues to loom large, as the consumer price index grew by 0.6 percent year-on-year last month, while the producer price index, which measures costs for manufacturing, was down 1.8 percent from a year earlier.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 percent to 17,196.96 and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent to 2,736.49.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 7,988.10, while South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.3 percent to 2,535.93.
Tech firms again took a hit following heavy losses at their US peers, although bargain-buying helped them pare the morning’s bigger falls.
Taipei-listed chip titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) dived more than 2 percent, with Samsung Electronics Co down a similar amount in Seoul, while Advantest Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd retreated in Tokyo.
Center stage this week would be Thursday’s European Central Bank rate decision. The bank, which cut rates by 25 basis points in June, is widely expected to ease policy by the same amount.
Investors also wonder whether the mixed US August payrolls report would be enough to tip the US Federal Reserve into cutting rates by an outsized 50 basis points when it meets next week.
So far, markets imply a 30 percent chance of a large cut, in part due to comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams on Friday, although Waller did leave open the option of aggressive easing.
Tomorrow’s expected data on last month’s US consumer prices should underline the case for a cut, if not the size, with headline inflation seen slowing to 2.6 percent from 2.9 percent.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
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