Asia-Pacific markets experienced a downturn on Monday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, following a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 142,000, falling short of the 161,000 projected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%, meeting expectations.
In Asia, traders focused on Japan’s revised GDP figures for the second quarter and China’s latest consumer price index (CPI) report.
Japan’s GDP for Q2 showed annualized growth of 2.9%, lower than the 3.2% forecast by economists polled by Reuters and the initial 3.1% advance estimate. This softer growth figure could limit the Bank of Japan’s ability to raise interest rates.
In China, the CPI rose 0.6% year-on-year, missing the 0.7% forecast. On a month-to-month basis, inflation increased by 0.4%, slightly below the 0.5% expected.
In response, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.14%, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.99%. The Japanese yen weakened by 0.3% against the U.S. dollar, trading at 142.71, moving away from the nine-month low it hit on Friday.
According to Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, yen traders will closely monitor equities as risk-averse sentiment increases. She anticipates continued unwinding of the yen carry trade and periods of aggressive equity selling in the near term.
In other markets, South Korea’s Kospi declined by 0.88%, while the smaller Kosdaq rose by 0.37%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.93%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 1.09%. Early on Monday, Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer Midea Group announced its plan to list 492.1 million shares in Hong Kong, with prices ranging from HK$52 to HK$54.80 per share.
At the upper limit of this pricing, the offering would be valued at HK$26.97 billion ($3.46 billion), making it the largest listing in Hong Kong in over three years.
