Asian stocks fall on more Cyprus fears, Nikkei down 0.24%
Published Mar 25, 2013 11:00PM ET
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.24% even after the Bank of Japan said Japan’s corporate services price index rose more-than-expected in February. Japan’s CSPI rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.1% last month compared with a reading of -0.2% in January. Analysts expected no change in the CSPI in February.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.54% while the Shanghai Composite slid 1.52% as traders dialed back risk after a deal reached to help Cyprus remain in the euro zone caused commotion about a possible template for restructurings, a fact the European Union denied.
"Cyprus is a specific case with exceptional challenges which required the bail-in measures we have agreed upon yesterday," the Eurogroup president said in a statement. "Macro-economic adjustment programmes are tailor-made to the situation of the country concerned and no models or templates are used."
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7% as financials and mining shares weighed on Aussie equities. New Zealand’s NZSE50 inched higher by 0.02% after a stronger-than-expected trade report.
Earlier today, Statistics New Zealand said reported a NZD414 million trade surplus last month. That follows a NZD287 million deficit in January and tops the February surplus of NZD211 million analysts expected.
For the 12 months ending February 28, New Zealand had a trade deficit of NZD1.08 billion, but that is better than the deficit of NZD1.48 billion analysts expected. The data also show the country’s trade relationship with China continues to blossom.
New Zealand sent NZD787 million in exports to China last month, up from NZD527 million in February 2012. China is already New Zealand’s largest trading partner.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.24% even after the Bank of Korea said South Korea had fourth-quarter GDP growth of 1.5%, an increase of just 0.3% from the third quarter, indicating Japan’s weaker yen is weighing on South Korea.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.11% while S&P 500 futures are higher by the same amount.
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Written By: Investing.com
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