Forexpros – Asian stocks fell on Thursday after data revealed orders for durable goods in the U.S. failed to meet expectations for February, pushing companies that export heavily to the world’s largest economy down midway through the session.
During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.38%, Australia’s S&P/ASX200 was down 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.85%.
In the U.S., a key export market for Asia, the Commerce Department reported durable goods orders increased 2.2% in February, not enough to fully reverse January’s revised 3.6% decline.
The number also failed to meet expectations for a 3.0% increase.
The news came in wake of several sluggish indicators, including housing numbers and consumer confidence figures that failed to meet analysts’ expectations earlier in the week.
Also this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said unemployment rates remained unacceptably high and added that loose monetary policies will stick around until the employment situation improves.
Ongoing concerns that China’s growth will come in a little cooler over the long term than once hoped tempered stocks as well.
Markets shrugged off Japan’s better-than-expected retail sales, which rose 3.5% in February from a year earlier, well above forecasts for a 1.4% gain.
In Hong Kong, top decliners included COSCO Pacific, down 4.24%, Sino Land, down 3.25%, and China Merchant Holdings, down 2.95%.
In Australia, the top decliners included Mirabela Nickel, down 10.00%, Leighton Holdings, down 7.28%, and Bank of Queensland, down 4.05%.
European stock futures indicated a lower opening.
France’s CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.09%, while Germany’s DAX 30 futures signaled a loss of 0.11%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a loss of 0.14%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.11% while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.15%.
Later Thursday, data on Japanese industrial output, inflation rates and unemployment rates are due out.
On Thursday in the U.S., gross domestic product figures, initial jobless claims and results from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City quarterly manufacturers’ survey are due out.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to make an appearance in public as well.
Forexpros
