FXStreet (Mumbai) – The stocks on the Asian bourses had a cautious start to the week and traded lower, as the extension of the sell-off in China stocks weighed on investors’ sentiment.
While sluggish close on the Wall Street on Friday and lower commodity prices also curbed markets’ appetite for riskier assets such as equities.
China stocks reverted to the red after a positive opening
The Japanese markets extend previous losses as positive Japanese economic news boosts the demand for the yen, which in turn weigh on the exporters’ stocks. Japan’s retail sales rebounded to 1.8% y/y in October, after slipping 0.1% in September. While BOJ’s Governor Kuroda’s upbeat comments on the economy failed to lift the market sentiment. USD/JPY trades -0.08% lower at 122.70 while the Nikkei loses -0.38% to trade at 19,807.
The Australian benchmark, the S&P/ASX keeps losses and drops -0.62% to 5,170, weighed down by the ongoing rout in the Chinese indices and lower commodities. Shares of electronic retailer, Dick Smith, are losing more than 51% after the company pulled back its profit forecast due to disappointing sales in October and November.
The Chinese indices fell back into losses following a higher start, as sentiment remains sour amid news that the Securities Regulatory Commission is widening its probe into practice of top brokerages – CITIC and Guosen Securities for violations. The benchmark Shanghai Composite (SSEC) tanks -1.52% to 3,383. China’s A50 index drops -1.30% to 9,989 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declines -0.42% to 21,971.
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)