Mainland Chinese and Japanese stocks fall nearly 1% as Asia-Pacific markets slip

Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Tuesday trade despite gains overnight on Wall Street as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs. Mainland Chinese stocks were down by the afternoon. The Shanghai composite edged 0.95% lower, while the Shenzhen component dropped 0.977%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.77%.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.89% while the Topix index shed 0.95%. South Korea’s Kospi also declined 0.52%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.31%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.55% lower. The S&P 500 gained 0.23% overnight stateside to a fresh record closing high of 4,290.61. Investors will also monitor technology shares in Asia-Pacific after the Nasdaq Composite on Wall Street rose 0.98% to a record closing high of 14,500.51.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 150.57 points to 34,283.27. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.96 — off levels above 92.1 seen earlier in the month. The Japanese yen traded at 110.53 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110.8 seen yesterday against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7556, down from levels around 0.758 seen earlier this week.

Mainland Chinese and Japanese stocks fall nearly 1% as Asia-Pacific markets slip, CNBC, Jun 29