(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks retreated as Hong Kong equities plunged the most in eight months and technology companies continued a global sell off.
The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index fall 0.4 percent as of 5:10 p.m. Hong Kong time. The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.5 percent as profit taking in some of the city's top performing shares sparked a wider selloff. Japan shares closed lower after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile, sending the yen higher.
“We had the backdrop of higher U.S. equities and oil markets boosting Asian markets at the start of the session,” said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte. “However, as concerns surrounding the firing of ballistic missiles brewed midday, we are seeing the slide in the Japanese market spreading across to the rest of Asia.”
Australia bucked the trend as bank stocks rebounded from a two-day selloff, driving to the benchmark index 1.8 percent higher. The nation's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Tuesday as it waits to see if wages will respond to a burst of hiring.
Summary
- Topix -0.3%, Nikkei 225 -0.1%
- Japan Shares Slide on Tech Selloff as North Korea Fires Missile
- Japan Auto Shares Rally as Strong Appetite Boosts Sales: Nomura
- Idemitsu Plunges on Plans for $1.2b Public Share Sale
- Hang Seng Index -1.5%, Hang Seng China Enterprises Index -1%; Shanghai Composite Index -0.4%; Taiex -0.6%
- Hong Kong Stocks Tumble
- China Stocks' Muted Performance Seen Continuing This Quarter
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index +1.8%
- Australian Retailers Surge as Economic Data Tops Estimates
- Kospi -0.6%, Kospi 200 Index -0.6%
- Straits Times Index -0.4%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index -0.4%, Philippine Stock Exchange PSEi Index -0.4%, Stock Exchange of Thailand Index -0.3%, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Index -0.4%, Jakarta Composite Index -0.8%
- Sensex Index +0.2%, Nifty 50 Index +0.2%
To contact the reporter on this story: Livia Yap in Singapore at lyap14@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Jeff Sutherland
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