The ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong continues to weigh on the region stocks as Asian stocks were seen falling on Wednesday with the benchmark index declining for a fourth day.
On a positive note, a report released showed that China’s manufacturing activity expanded at a steady pace, with the nation’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index coming in at 51.1 in September, compared to analysts’ forecasts of 51.0. A reading above 50 indicated expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
In China, the equity market was closed on Wednesday for the nation’s National Day. While in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.19% lower to trade at 16,143.54 points, while Tokyo’s Topix index declined 0.25% to 1,322.95 points.
The Japanese yen fell to a fresh six-year low against the US dollar, trading around 109.85 yen, while the greenback strengthened despite the weak report from the world’s largest economy, including house prices reports, consumer confidence and more.
Japan’s manufacturing sector showed signs of improvement as the Tankan Manufacturing Index rose 1 point to 13 in the third quarter from 12 recorded in the previous quarter, according to a release from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). A separate data compiled by Bloomberg from the Japan Securities Dealers Association showed that the orders for shares in 42 companies, totaling 67.78 trillion yen were canceled.
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Financial stocks that fell included Aozora Bank which slid by 2% and Sony financial Holdings slumped by 1.7%.
The South Korean Kospi index declined 0.71% to 2,005.16 points at the time of writing. Reports released showed that the nation’s industrial output sank 2.8% in August, compared to analysts forecast of a 2% rise. Exports rose 6.8% in September from the previous year.
In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged 0.12% lower to trade at 5,286.60 points, dragging the mining and banking stocks lower.
The nation’s mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton each fell by 0.8% during the early hours of trading as iron ore prices continued to decline. The financial stocks, Westpac lost 1.4%, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia slumped 0.9%, National Australia Bank slid 1.1% and ANZ was down by 0.8%.
Stocks in the European region opened lower on Wednesday as a string of manufacturing reports are expected to be released later in the day, while the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
The European Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.26% to open at 3,217.70, while the French CAC 40 slid 0.20% lower to 4,407.61. In Germany, the benchmark DAX declined 0.18% to trade at 9,457.78 and UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 was down by 0.25% to open at 6,606.32.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank’s president Mario Draghi is expected to comment on the asset-backed securities purchases following the economy’s weak performance due to the low inflation and high unemployment rate.
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