Asia stocks fall on U.S. confidence data; Nikkei down 1.01%

Investing.com - Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, as investors sold on lackluster U.S. consumer confidence data and also for profits earned on comments made by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who won't rule out new stimulus measures to firm up the U.S. labor market.

During Asian trading on Wednesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.47%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was up 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 1.01%.

In the U.S., a key export market for Asia, consumers are a little worried about their economic future mainly due to fears that high gasoline prices will cut into their wallets more.

The jobs situation remains tough as well, while the housing sector appears to be searching for a bottom though signs of a turnaround have yet to emerge.

The Conference Board reported that its closely watched consumer confidence index slipped to 70.2 in March from a revised 71.6 in February, slightly worse than an expected reading of 70.3.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. house price index fell at an annualized rate of 3.8% in January from a year earlier, meeting expectations although the reading shows that home prices continue falling.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated earlier comments from this week that he cannot rule out the use of extraordinary easing policies to best ensure that long-term interest rates stay low and hiring improves.

"Well, we don't take any options off the table," Bernanke told ABC News.

"We don't know what's going to happen in the future, and we have to be prepared to respond to however the economy evolves."

Stimulus policies such as bond purchases from banks tend to send stocks rising, as the rush of liquidity that stems from the purchases often ends up in equities markets.

However in Asian markets on Wednesday, investors sold stocks for profits mainly on U.S. economic indicators.

In Hong Kong, top decliners included Li & Fung, down 5.51%, Esprit Holdings, down 3.68%, and China Resources, down 2.72%.

In Australia, the top gainers included Art Energy, up 10.17%, Southern Cross Media, up 3.94%, and Ramelius Resources, up 3.57%.

European stock futures indicated a mixed opening.

France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.17%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures signaled a loss of 0.02%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.21%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.10% while the S&P 500 futures were also up 0.10%.

Later Wednesday, markets will move on data for durable goods orders in the U.S. and also on gasoline and crude inventories.

In Japan, retail sales figures are due out, while in New Zealand, business confidence figures will be released.

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