Asian stocks fall after Chinese trade balance print
Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region were down on Thursday after data showed that trade surplus in China shrank to $68.36 billion in August.
The negative sentiment appeared to be fueled by Wall Street's losses as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve's Beige Book. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe did not rule out additional monetary tightening should it be considered necessary given the incoming economic data in the country.
The Nikkei 225 lost 0.69% at 7:25 am CET, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.28%. The Shanghai Composite was down by 0.76% and the Shenzhen Composite tumbled 1.32%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.08% and South Kroea's Kospi slipped 0.87%.
The dollar was flat against the Japanese yen a minute later, selling at 147.6720.