A man uses a mobile phone in front of an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Most Asian stock markets fell Wednesday, led by losses in Japan, as investors continued to worry the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon start reducing its monetary stimulus. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2 percent to 15,407.94, pulling back from Tuesday’s rise and levels that were the index’s highest in about six months. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
HONG KONG—Asian markets fell on Thursday as a batch of strong US data fueled expectations the Federal Reserve will start to wind down its stimulus measures as early as this month.
Japanese shares were sold for a second straight session on the back of a strengthening yen after it touched six-month lows against the dollar earlier in the week, while flag-carrier Qantas dragged on Sydney after it announced a huge jobs cull.
Tokyo lost 1.50 percent, or 230.45 points, to close at 15,177.49, Sydney shed 1.44 percent, or 75.8 points, to 5,198.0 and Seoul was 0.10 percent off, dipping 2.03 points to 1,984.77.
Shanghai finished 0.21 percent, or 4.70 points, lower at 2,247.06 while Hong Kong was flat, edging down 16.13 points to 23,712.57.
Wall Street closed broadly lower after payrolls firm ADP said US private-sector hiring surged in November, creating a net 215,000 new jobs, the strongest month so far in 2013 and well up from 184,000 in October.
The figures suggest Friday’s closely watched official non-farm payrolls for November will also be strong.
There is a growing expectation that the upbeat data in recent months will persuade the Fed to start cutting back on its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying scheme, which has supported the US economy and helped fuel a global equities rally.
The bank has said a strong jobs market is essential to its decision-making on the future of the stimulus.
In New York trading, the Dow fell 0.16 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.13 percent, but the Nasdaq was flat.
Also Wednesday, data showed the US trade deficit shrank in October and new-home sales rose 25.4 percent rise from the previous month.
And the Fed said in its Beige Book report that the economy was growing at a “modest to moderate” pace in recent weeks and showed few weak spots, despite the October government shutdown.
The dollar bought 102.00 yen, compared with 102.32 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon. The greenback is well down from the 103.30 touched earlier this week, which was its highest since May.
The euro bought $1.3617 and 138.83 yen against $1.3591 and 139.06 yen.
In Sydney, Qantas slumped 17 percent at one point after it said it was slashing 1,000 jobs and warned of “immense” challenges ahead, while flagging a shock half-year loss of up to Aus$300 million (US$271 million). The firm ended the day 10.79 percent down.
Chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline was battling “extraordinary circumstances” including record fuel costs, a strong Australian dollar and fierce competition from subsidised rivals.
On oil markets, New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for January delivery, was up 21 cents at $97.41 in afternoon Asian trade while Brent North Sea crude for January eased 13 cents to $111.75.
Gold fetched $1,234.54 per ounce at 1107 GMT compared with $1,212.30 on Wednesday.
In other markets:
— Taipei fell 0.50 percent, or 42.46 points, to 8,375.54.
Smartphone maker HTC rose 0.34 percent to Tw$147.0 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slipped 0.95 percent to Tw$104.0.
— Wellington ended down 0.30 percent, or 14.21 points, at 4,719.95.
Telecom rose 1.32 percent to NZ$2.30.
— Manila fell 1.22 percent, or 74.28 points, to 6,030.95.
— Jakarta closed down 0.58 percent, or 24.41 points, at 4,216.89.
Food manufacturer Indofood Sukses Makmur lost 1.52 percent to 6,500 rupiah, while car maker Astra International lost 1.60 percent 6,150 rupiah.
— Kuala Lumpur gained 0.16 percent, or 2.96 points, to 1,824.86.
Utility Tenaga Nasional rose 0.7 percent to 10.94 ringgit, while financial firm CIMB Group Holdings shed 0.3 percent to 7.65 ringgit.
— Singapore eased 1.15 percent, or 36.32 points, at 3,124.38.
Real estate developer Capitaland eased 0.66 percent to Sg$2.99 while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was down 1.27 percent to Sg$10.12.
— Mumbai rose 1.20 percent, or 249.10 points, to 20,957.81.
ICICI Bank jumped 6.66 percent to 1,136.1 rupees while finance company IDFC gained 7.02 percent to 112.75 rupees.
— Bangkok was closed for a public holiday.