Asian stocks drop on Spanish downgrade, Japan data; Nikkei down 0.18%

Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed to lower on Thursday after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's ratings, while Japanese machinery orders disappointed.

During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.09%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.17%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.18%.

Standard & Poor's said it lowered Spain's long-term credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and cut its short-term credit rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'.

The ratings agency said Spain's deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government's policy options and added that rising unemployment and spending constraints are likely to fuel social discontent and contribute to friction between Spain's central and regional governments.

"In our view, the capacity of Spain's political institutions (both domestic and multilateral) to deal with the severe challenges posed by the current economic and financial crisis is declining," Standard & Poor's said in a statement.

The news sparked demand for the dollar, which sent higher-yielding currencies and stocks dipping in the Asian session.

Japanese data pushed down stocks as well.

Japan's Economic and Social Research Institute reported earlier that Japan’s core machinery orders contracted 3.3% in August after rising 4.6% in July.

Analysts had expected the country's core machinery orders to fall 2.5% in August.

Stocks saw some support on Australian jobs data.

The number of employed people in Australia rose by 14,500 last month, the most since May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported, well above analysts' forecasts for 3,800 new jobs.
Hong Kong, top gainers included ICBC, up 2.13%, PetroChina, up 1.86%, and Bank of China, up 1.69%.

In Australia, top decliners included Lynas Corp., down 15.12%, Iluka Resources, down 7.57%, and NRW Holdings, down 5.43%.

European stock futures indicated a higher opening.

France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.23%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a gain of 0.11%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures were up 0.02%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.02% while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.01%.

Later Thursday, the ECB is to publish its monthly bulletin, with analyzes current and future economic conditions from the bank’s perspective.

The U.S. will release government data on the country's trade balance, initial jobless claims, import prices and crude oil stockpiles.

Also Thursday, finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 group of industrialized nations are due to hold talks in Tokyo.