Asian shares hit ahead of central bank meetings

An investor looks at the stock price monitor at a private securities company in Shanghai, China, Monday, July 29, 2013. Asian stock markets fell Monday as traders awaited a packed schedule of data releases this week in the US and a key meeting of the Federal Reserve. AP PHOTO

HONG KONG—Asian shares mostly fell on Monday, with Tokyo skidding more than three percent as the yen rose against the dollar before policy meetings of the US and European central banks.

Tokyo’s Nikkei dived 3.32 percent, extending an almost three percent slump on Friday. The index shed 468.85 points to 13,661.13.

Seoul lost 0.57 percent, or 10.92 points, to 1,899.89 but Sydney ended flat, edging up 4.3 points to 5,046.3.

Hong Kong was down 0.54 percent, or 118.80 points, at 21,850.15 and Shanghai lost 1.72 percent, or 34.54 points, to close at 1,976.31.

Wall Street provided a soft lead Friday. The Dow and S&P 500 finished flat and the Nasdaq gained 0.22 percent.

Eyes are on the US Federal Reserve policy meeting this week, which traders hope will provide more clues about the state of the economy and the future of the central bank’s huge stimulus program.

Expectations are for the $85-billion-a-month bond-buying program to be kept in place for some time to come, keeping demand for the dollar low, which in turn has sent the yen higher.

That will be followed by the release of closely watched non-farm payrolls data as well as April-June gross domestic product growth.

The dollar was at 97.97 yen in afternoon trade, against 98.20 yen in New York on Friday. The euro bought $1.3268 and 130.00 yen, compared with $1.3278 and 130.48 yen.

The European Central Bank will also hold a meeting this week, although analysts say policymakers will not be under pressure to cut rates since eurozone economies show some small signs of improving.

Hong Kong and Shanghai shares were weighed by concerns about the Chinese economy days ahead of the release of manufacturing activity data. Recent figures have pointed to continuing weakness in the world’s No. 2 economy, a crucial driver of global growth.

Traders were also spooked by news that China’s National Audit Office will carry out an audit of all regional government debt, an announcement which raised concerns about the country’s local banking system.

“The latest audit of all local government debt may indicate that Beijing is increasingly concerned about potential risks” from too-high debt levels, Chen Wei, analyst at China Minzu Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

On oil markets, New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September, was down 65 cents at $104.05 a barrel, and Brent North Sea crude for September fell 50 cents to $106.67.

Gold cost $1,334.38 per ounce at 1030 GMT, compared with $1,329.25 late Friday.

In other markets:

— Mumbai slid 0.78 percent, or 154.91 points, to 19,593.28.

Private carrier Jet Airways rose 4.22 percent to 412.2 rupees on hopes that its deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad would be cleared soon while IT outsourcer Wipro rose 6.71 percent to 408.5 rupees, on improved revenue outlook.

— Singapore closed up 0.03 percent, or 0.87 points, at 3,236.97.

Property developer Capitaland declined 0.92 percent to Sg$3.23 and DBS Bank gained 0.18 percent at Sg$16.83

— Jakarta ended down 1.68 percent, or 78.41 points, at 4,580.47.

Miner Aneka Tambang dropped 4.03 percent to 1,190 rupiah, while retailer Hero Supermarket gained 0.80 percent to 3,150 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur closed down 8.83 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,798.98.

Tenaga Nasional ended 0.8 percent lower at 9.09 ringgit while CIMB Group fell 1.7 percent to 8.31. UEM Sunrise gained 0.4 percent to 2.90 ringgit.

— Taipei slipped 0.80 percent, or 64.9 points, to 8,084.5.

— Manila fell 0.68 percent, shedding 45.96 points to end at 6,717.66.

Ayala Corp. fell 0.66 percent to 605 pesos and Metropolitan Bank and Trust eased 2.01 percent to 107.10 pesos.

— Wellington fell 3.52 points or 0.08 percent to 4,578.48.

Telecom was down 2.13 percent at NZ$2.295 while Contact Energy fell 0.18 percent to NZ$5.49.