Asia-Pacific markets slid Wednesday, with markets in China hitting multi-month lows.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 275.09 points, or 0.9%, to 30,682.68, even as the country’s business sentiment among manufacturers turned positive for the first time in 2023, according to a Reuters Tankan survey.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 315.32 points, or 1.6%, to 19,115.93.
New Zealand shares reversed losses, while the New Zealand dollar strengthened against the U.S. dollar after the country’s central bank raised its benchmark policy rate to 5.5%, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. The S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index closed up 0.23% after the move.
The country also saw its retail sales volume fall 4.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, the second straight quarterly contraction following a 4% fall in the quarter ended December.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 index retreated 54.1 points, or 1.4%, to 3,859.09.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index handed back 3.87 points, or 0.1%, to 3,214.21.
In Korea, the Kospi weakened 0.1 points to 2,567.45.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index subtracted 28.71 points, or 0.2%, to 16,159.32.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 27.64 points, or 0.2%, to 11,971.83.
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost 46.09 points, or 0.6%, to 7,213.80.
