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Asian stocks retreated on Thursday amid persistent concerns about inflation and fears that global central banks may be forced to raise rates sooner rather than later. <\/p>\n
China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped 16.66 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,520.71 as indebted China Evergrande Group and developer Country Garden Services Holdings Co. announced plans to raise funds.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 330.36 points, or 1.29 percent, to 25,319.72 as Baidu Inc. and Bilibili Inc. reported weak earnings, sparking concerns about slowing advertising revenue.<\/p>\n
Japanese shares slipped but ended off their day’s lows after the Nikkei business<\/span> daily reported about a bigger-than-expected economic stimulus package. The Nikkei average ended down 89.67 points, or 0.30 percent, at 29,598.66 while the broader Topix index dipped 0.14 percent to settle at 2,035.52.<\/p>\n Cyclical shares such as shippers led losses, with Kawasaki Kisen plunging 7.2 percent and Nippon Yusen tumbling 4.4 percent.<\/p>\n Steelmaker Nippon Steel declined 1.9 percent and JFE Holdings gave up 1.7 percent. <\/p>\n Oil firm Inpex plummeted 7.1 percent and Idemitsu Kosan lost 3.6 percent as oil prices slid to six-week low on news China was moving to release some oil from its strategic reserves. <\/p>\n Eisai slumped 9 percent after a European Medicines Agency panel voted against approval of Alzheimer’s drug the Japanese drugmaker developed with Biogen Inc.<\/p>\n Australian markets<\/span> ended a choppy session slightly higher, snapping a two-day losing streak. The benchmark S&P\/ASX200 index edged up 9.30 points, or 0.13 percent, to 7,379.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 9.20 points, or 0.12 percent, at 7,713.20.<\/p>\n Energy stocks ended broadly lower after oil prices fell sharply overnight. Gold miner Evolution Mining jumped as much as 9.7 percent after it signed a pact with Swiss giant Glencore to acquire the Ernest Henry copper-gold mine northeast of Cloncurry in Queensland for $1bn.<\/p>\n Medical laboratory company Sonic Healthcare rallied 3 percent after providing healthy trading update at its annual general meeting. Crop protection provider Nufarm climbed 5.2 percent after revenue and profit surged for the year to September 30.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks retreated as the country reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus<\/span> infections since the start of the pandemic, despite a high rate of inoculation. The Kospi average slipped 15.04 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 2,947.38.<\/p>\n New Zealand shares fell after a Reserve Bank survey showed inflation expectations for the next two years climbed. <\/p>\n The benchmark NZX-50 index eased 37.07 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 12,800.33, with property stocks pacing the declines on concerns that higher interest rates may reduce their relatively yields.<\/p>\n U.S. stocks ended lower overnight amid inflation fears, supply chain concerns and uncertainty over early rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n The Dow dropped 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both eased around 0.3 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n