Stocks in Asia declined on Thursday following a dip in US equities and bonds, as robust macro economic data in the world's largest economy dimmed hopes for imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Benchmarks indices in Japan and South Korea fell. The Nikkei 225 retreated as much as 0.7% to slip below 39,000, while the Kospi tanked 1.6% to 2,552.
Futures in Hong Kong dropped 0.4% ahead of market open. Chinese stocks, however, saw marginal gains. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.05% after start of trading on the mainland.
Across the Pacific, the S&P 500 lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.8% on Wednesday, led by losses in megacap technology stocks.
The US economy grew strongly in the third quarter, with households and businesses remaining resilient amid global challenges and uncertainty leading up to the November election. According to the government’s initial estimate released Wednesday, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product increased at an annualised rate of 2.8%, following a 3% rise in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen was steady at 153.5 per dollar, ahead of the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision amid political uncertainty in the country.
The greenback strengthened—represented by the dollar index, which measures the relative performance against a basket of six currencies— retook the 104 level.
Other economic data set for release includes Japan's industrial production, manufacturing PMI figures for China, and GDP reports for Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg News.
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