TOKYO, Sept 19 — Asian shares sank today, as worries about the Chinese property sector weighed on markets from Hong Kong to Australia, while Japanese investors sold chip stocks on their return from a holiday-extended weekend.
Benchmark US Treasury yields hovered near 16-year peaks and the dollar held close to six-month highs as traders braced for a Federal Reserve rate decision tomorrow, in a week that also sees policy decisions from the Bank of Japan and Bank of England, among others.
Crude oil continued its rally amid tighter supply, stoking worries about stagflation.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slipped 0.3 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.1 per cent under the weight of big losses for chip-related stocks including Tokyo Electron and Advantest.
Japanese markets were closed yesterday, when Asian tech stocks sold off following a Reuters report that TSMC had asked its major vendors to delay deliveries.
John Pearce, CIO at Unisuper, called the news “surprising.”
“The one thing you were almost certain of was that demand for semiconductors was only one way,” he said.
At the same time, “there’s enough lead indicators there to say there’s real softness in the pipeline,” he added.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.3 per cent, with a subindex of tech stocks sliding 0.7 per cent.
Chinese property stocks were volatile, with a subindex of Hang Seng developers dropping as much as 1.2 per cent at one point, although it was last off 0.2 per cent.
In one positive development, Country Garden won approval from creditors to extend repayment on another onshore bond, the last in the batch of eight bonds it has been seeking extensions for, sources said. The stock climbed about 1 per cent.
Property services provider Country Garden Services Holdings 6098.HK, though, was among the worst performers on the Hang Seng, dropping about 2 per cent.
An index of mainland blue chips fell 0.4 per cent, while a subindex of property stocks was flat.
Australia’s stock benchmark dropped 0.4 per cent, sagging under the weight of mining stocks amid pessimism over Chinese demand.
Weakness in Asia came despite small gains for Wall Street overnight, with US stock futures flat.
Currency markets were also subdued, with the US dollar index — which measures the currency against six major peers — rising 0.06 per cent to 105.14, edging back toward last week’s six-month peak of 105.43.
The dollar added 0.1 per cent to ¥147.73, bringing it closer to last week’s 10-month top of 147.95.
The euro eased 0.07 per cent to US$1.06825.
Ten-year yields were little changed at just above 4.3 per cent, holding close to the 4.366 per cent level reached on August 22, which was the highest since 2007.
Traders are all but certain the Fed will leave rates steady again at the conclusion of a two-day meeting that begins later today, but are split on the chances on another quarter-point increase by year-end.
Fed officials will also release their latest predictions on the economy and where rates are likely to be over the coming quarters.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose in early trade today for the fourth consecutive session, as weak shale output in the US spurred further concerns about a supply deficit stemming from extended production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 90 cents, or 1 per cent, to US$92.38, just under a 10-month high reached yesterday. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to US$94.70 a barrel. — Reuters
