Forexpros – Asian stocks dropped on Thursday after Australian jobs figures strongly disappointed, while sentiment the Bank of Japan will make no changes to monetary stimulus programs fueled a risk-off trading session that sent investors selling stocks and investing in the yen.
During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.87%, Australia’s S&P/ASX200 was down 0.51%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 1.00%.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday that the country lost 27,000 jobs in June compared with a gain of 38,900 in May.
Analysts had expected Australian employment change to rise by 3,000 in June.
The country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in June from 5.1% in May.
The news sent stocks falling as the numbers indicated weak demand for Australian products and services in large export markets.
China is due to release gross domestic product growth rates later and the sudden drop fueled fears that Asian economies may be cooling a little more than expected.
Stocks were lower also on talk the Bank of Japan won’t make major changes to its monetary stimulus programs, which further fueled the yen’s strengthening trend.
In Hong Kong, top decliners included China Unicom, down 3.86%, Tencent, down 2.60%, and CCB, down 2.64%.
In Australia, top decliners included Intrepid Mines, down 6.67%, Coalspur Mines, down 5.79%, and Bathurst Resources, down 5.48%.
European stock futures indicated a lower opening.
France’s CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 futures signaled a loss of 0.22%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a loss of 0.37%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.10% while the S&P 500 futures were also down 0.10%.
Markets will keep an eye on the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy statement late as well as on Chinese gross domestic product rates due out later.
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