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Japan Shares Tumble, Shanghai Drops Sharply at the Close
Early Asian market joyride turns ugly, though Australia holds onto small gains
BLOOMBERG NEWS
By CHAO DENG
Updated Jan. 21, 2016 2:20 a.m. ET
4 COMMENTS
Shares in Japan fell sharply in a volatile session Thursday, dragging most Asian markets into the red and stocks in Shanghai dropped sharply at the close.
The Nikkei Stock Average closed down 2.4% at 16017.26, adding to Wednesday’s losses that kicked the benchmark into bear-market territory, defined as a drop of at least 20% from a recent high.
The Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%, the Shanghai Composite Index closed 3.2% lower and South Korea’s Kospi was essentially flat.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 held onto a gain of 0.5% by its finish. That benchmark, at 4864, is about 18% down from its recent peak in April, keeping it so far from joining China, Hong Kong and Japan in bear-market territory.
That stride quickly reversed as interest rates in Hong Kong climbed and Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank wasn’t considering using negative interest rate policy to help the country’s economy.
Japan’s economic fundamentals are firm and price trends are steadily improving, he said. The Bank of Japan’s monetary-policy meeting is next week.
That was enough to spark a fresh round of selling, even as the Hong Kong dollar eased off its 8½-year low and the Japanese yen weakened from its one-year high, both against the U.S. dollar.
“People are looking to sell on strength,” said Robert Levine, sales trader with brokerage CLSA. “Not too many people believe in this rally yet,” he added.
Earlier in the session, the Shanghai Composite Index was in positive territory, as investors put their hopes in authorities’ moves to inject liquidity into the banking system. The Chinese central bank’s net cash injection of 315 billion yuan this week was the largest of its kind since January 2012. The step was aimed at easing liquidity pressure ahead of China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday starting Feb. 7.
But sentiment started souring around midday.
The three-month lending rate between Hong Kong banks surged to 0.75% on Thursday, up from 0.4% yesterday, marking a new high since April 2009 after the global financial crisis. The one-month rate hit as high as 0.35%, a 6½-year high, compared with 0.1% Wednesday.
The levels are still low, but analysts expect a possible further increase amid ongoing concerns about Chinese slowing economic growth. Higher rates portend more difficulty for home buyers in the city.
In Hong Kong, Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. was down 5.5%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong, was down 1.7% at 7886.
Still, the Hong Kong dollar traded at HK$7.8190 to one U.S. dollar, roughly unchanged from its late-day level yesterday.
Brent crude oil prices were down 0.5% at $27.74 a barrel.
Gold prices were off 0.3% at $1102.40 troy ounce.
—Fiona Law contributed to this article.
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