Asia stocks retreat as global growth concerns weigh; Nikkei dips 0.1%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets declined on Wednesday, as concerns over the global economic outlook prompted investors to shun riskier assets, while reduced expectations for further easing measures in the U.S. also weighed.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index shed 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.1%.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data proved to be a negative for global markets, as it dampened hopes for further easing by the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in July, the largest monthly gain since February and the first increase in four months.

Meanwhile, in the euro zone, official data showed that the region’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the three months to June, adding to signs of a deepening global slump.

Worries about China’s cooling growth also pressured demand for riskier assets.

In Tokyo, shares in lenders and exporters dragged the Nikkei lower. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 0.55%, Mizuho Financial Group declined 0.8%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 2.2%.

Shares in Sharp plunged 12.4%, while Panasonic slumped 2.9%, amid concerns over a slowdown in global demand for electronics.

Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in lenders and raw material producers weighed on the Hang Seng.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China lost 1.3%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings declined 1.75%. Shares of Europe’s largest lender command a 15% weighting on the Hong Kong benchmark, making it the single largest constituent on the index.

Among resource names, Jiangxi Copper Company slumped 1.45%, aluminum maker CHALCO shed 0.9%, while oil major CNOOC dropped 1.8%.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia also came under pressure from losses in miners.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost 1.3% and 2.65% respectively, while gold producer Newcrest Mining gave up 3.6%.

Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was flat to mildly lower.  The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a flat open, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased down 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a flat open.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on consumer price inflation and industrial production, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the New York area.