Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday, as the Japanese yen weakened to a near 38-year low late Wednesday, hitting 160.82 against the U.S. dollar, according to FactSet data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 325.53 points, or 0.8%, to 39,341.54.
The yen, which strengthened to trade at 160.42 against the dollar late Thursday afternoon, last breached the 160 level two months ago, prompting the Japanese government to prop it up in the country’s first currency intervention since 2022.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Thursday that the country was “deeply concerned about FX impact on economy” and would take “necessary” action, Reuters reported.
Japan’s year-on-year retail sales growth for May came in at 3%, higher than the market forecast of 2%, according to a Reuters poll of economists. This compares with a revised 2% growth in April.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index docked 373.46 points, or 2.1%, to 17,716.47, a near two-month low in its final hour of trade.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 sank 26.14 points, or 0.8%, to 3,454,12, hitting a new four-month low.
China’s industrial profits grew 3.4% year on year from January to May, reaching 2.75 trillion Chinese yuan ($378.41 million U.S.), official data showed Thursday. The country’s industrial profit for the first four months of this year had risen by 4.3%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 11.65 points, or 0.4%, to 3,343.35.
In Korea, the Kospi index gave back 7.99 points, or 0.3%, to 2,784.06.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dumped 80.71 points, or 0.4%, to 22,905.98.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 deducted 117.58 points, or 1%, to 11,717.43.
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 23.41 points, or 0.3%, to 7,759.60.
