Oil, Bond Yields, Soft China Economic Data Undercut Asian Stock Markets
Asian stock markets wobbled lower Tuesday, undercut by rising interest rates, higher crude costs, and a raft of soft economic reports from Beijing.Hong Kong and Shanghai finished in the red, while Tokyo managed to finish nearly flat. Other regional exchanges lost ground.Brent oil traded to $107.42 a barrel, up 1.6%, during Asian market hours.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on Wall Street cues but finished essentially flat, as a softer yen undergirded export issues.The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 8.89 to 63,484.10, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 157 to 66.Leading the upside was tech-financier SoftBank, up 7.5%, while Furukawa Electric declined 3.3%.In other market news, yields on benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds touched above 3% for the first time since 1996.In economic news, Japan's tertiary, or services, industry index increased by 0.4% in July from June, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined through the day, closing down 1% after a raft of soft economic reports from Beijing.The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 250.36 to 24,667.24, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 78 to 14. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.7%.Leading the upside was video-game maker NetEase, gaining 2%, while battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology declined 6.2%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 3,864.28.In economic news, China's new home prices across 70 cities fell 3.0% on-year in August 2026, the 38th straight month of annual declines, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The nation's industrial production grew 5.2% on-year in August 2026, reported the NBS.China's retail sales rose a modest 0.4% on-year in August, slowing from a 0.6% gain in July, while the nation's fixed-asset investment declined by 7.2% on-year in the January-August period, added the agency.China's official urban unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in August from 5.2% in July, reported NBS.Summing up the slate of reports, "China's weak domestic demand continues to undermine growth," said ING Think, an arm of the Dutch investment house.On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.9%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.9%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 1.4%, and the Thai Set declined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 1%.The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 0.9% on the day.
