Asian Shares Follow Wall Street Lower
Asian markets traded lower Thursday, weighed by
Diamond toolsa weak finish on Wall Street Tuesday with Japan's shares also dragged down by weaker-than-expected economic data.
Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.6%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.3% and New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.5%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 12 points lower in screen trade. The DJIA fell 0.7% Wednesday, weighed by a bigger-than-expected drop in consumer credit, and comments from Federal Reserve officials over how to deal with economic concerns such as debt and inflation.
"We have the stronger yen and the New York share fall when investors are looking for reasons to take profits so many investors are starting the day with selling," said Chuo Securities sales manager Koichi Seki in Tokyo.
Selling in Japan was also fueled by news Japan's core machinery orders in February fell 5.4% on-month, missing expectations for a 3.9% rise, a discouraging sign for capital expenditure.
Machinery plays lost ground, with Fanuc losing 1.0%, Komatsu shedding 1.5% and Okuma losing 1.9%.
"Now that the Nikkei has gained about 14% over the past two months, the market is beginning to take a breather," said Nikko Securities manager Hiroichi Nishi.
Nissan Motor shed 1.1%, falling in line with other automakers on the yen's strength, despite announcing a tripartite alliance between Renault, Nissan and Daimler to develop a new generation of small cars, share engines and cooperate in small commercial vans. The deal was in line with expectations and the stock had already risen 17.0% since the beginning of March.
In Australia, mining plays led losses, with RBS Morgans private client adviser Trent Muller saying most of the sector's weakness was likely due to concerns the stocks were overbought after the industry's recent wave of merger and acquisition news.
Market leader BHP Billiton fell 1.9%, while rival Rio Tinto dropped 1.0% and Alumina fell 1.9%.
Bucking the trend, gold plays advanced with Eldorado Gold jumping 7.6% and Lihir Gold adding 1.5%. Fresh concerns over Greece helped boost gold as an "alternative currency," said Sterling Smith, analyst
Diamond toolswith Country Hedging.
