Hong Kong stocks fall and Japan stocks sink on Abe speech, lead Asia losses
By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japanese stocks swooned in volatile trading action Wednesday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s blueprint to spur long-term economic growth fell short of expectations.
Most other regional markets declined after a weak lead from Wall Street overnight that kept alive concerns the Federal Reserve may taper its bond purchases, with Australian stocks sliding after the nation’s first-quarter growth came in below estimates.
In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK -3.26% rose more than 1% as Abe began his much-anticipated speech, but staged a swift reversal within minutes before ending the session 518.89 points, or 3.8%, lower at 13,014.87. The decline was the fifth time in the last two weeks when the Nikkei fell more than 3% in a single day.
The dollar USDJPY -0.39% also charted a similarly volatile course, rising as high as ¥100.45 before sliding back to ¥99.57 by the time the stock market closed.
Hong Kong stocks fell early Wednesday as lingering worries that the Federal Reserve may taper the pace of its monthly bond purchases inspired weakness across sectors. The Hang Seng Index HK:HSI -0.97% fell 0.8% to 22,104.69, staying on course for its fifth decline in six trading days, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gave up 1.1% to 10,423.56. Among the notable decliners, Bank of East Asia Ltd. HK:23 -2.17% BKEAY -2.57% dropped 2%, food-products firm Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corp. HK:322 -1.22% shed 1.7% and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. HK:101 -0.18% HLPPY -1.62% declined 1.8%. China’s Shanghai Composite CN:000001 -0.38% slipped 0.1%.
For more on this story go to:
