Hong Kong stocks plunged on Thursday, snapping a six-day winning streak, as the China stimulus rally appeared to ease.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 hurtled 743.3 points, or 2%, to 38,552.06.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 330.2 points, or 1.5%, to 22,442.73, coming off a strong session on Wednesday that sent the index to its highest level since January 2023.
On Wednesday, Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters economic conditions don’t currently support another rate hike. Ishiba made his comments after meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.
The yen strengthened slightly to 146.42 against the U.S. dollar, a day after clocking its largest single-day decline since June 2022.
Japan’s au Jibun bank composite final PMI, which takes into account both manufacturing and service activities, for September stood at 52.0, signaling a softer expansion in the private sector compared to 52.9 in August, according to the private survey conducted by S&P Global Intelligence. The service sector PMI, compiled from around 400 survey responses, was 53.1 in September, lower than the 53.7 in August.
Investors will parse through the busy slate of data out Thursday. Australia’s seasonally adjusted Judo Bank Composite PMI data came in at 49.6 in September, lower from the 51.7 in August, falling past the 50 neutral mark. The services PMI posted 50.5, down from 52.5 in August.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the country’s trade surplus came in at 5.64 billion Australian dollars ($3.87 billion) in August, higher than the AU$5.5 billion estimated in a Reuters poll but down from AU$6.01 billion in July. Both imported and exported goods contracted 0.2% from the previous month, the data showed.
CHINA
Markets in Shanghai, Taiwan and Kospi were shuttered for Golden Week holidays.
Beijing is widely anticipated to unleash more fiscal policies and support measures in the coming months, but “the eventual scale and content of the fiscal package might be quite improvised and uncertain,” Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura said in a note, adding that investors should exercise “more sober assessment” amid the recent market frenzy.
In other markets,
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 7.24 points, or 0.2%, to 3,577.43.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 regained 120.97 points, or 1%, to 12,572.66.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained seven points, or 0.1%, to 8,205.19
