Asian Stocks Mixed on Thursday

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors awaited the release of U.S. jobless claims data expected later in the day stateside.

Asian Stocks

Shares in Japan led losses among the region’s major markets.

• The Nikkei 225 falling 4.51% to close at 18,664.60 as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing plunged 13.16%.
• The Topix index shed 1.78% to end its trading day at 1,399.32.

Mainland Chinese stocks slipped on the day.

• The Shanghai composite 0.6% lower at about 2,764.91.
• The Shenzhen composite shedding 0.799% to around 1,701.15.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also slipped 0.72%, as of their final hour of trading.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 1.9% as of 9:18 a.m. London time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 1.5%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.2%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.5%.The euro increased 0.6% to $1.0946.The British pound climbed 0.5% to $1.1939.The Japanese yen advanced 1.2% to 109.87 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped seven basis points to 0.80%.Germany’s 10-year yield decreased five basis points to -0.31%.Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.407%.

Commodities

Gold decreased 0.7% to $1,605.59 an ounce.West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 2.9% to $23.78 a barrel.

Bloomberg.com