- Asian markets traded lower after Wall Street closed in negative territory
- Japan core machinery orders topped expectations
- Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies pared some losses after tumbling earlier
- The dollar index resumed its decline while the euro inched higher
Asian markets traded in negative territory early on Wednesday after Wall Street reversed a triple-digit point gain to close lower in the previous session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.35 percent after touching a 26-year high in the last session. Major exporter stocks traded mixed in the morning while index heavyweights SoftBank Group and Fanuc declined 0.91 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
Core machinery orders released Wednesday showed a second consecutive monthly increase for the month of November, Reuters said. Core orders, a volatile metric, rose 5.7 percent compared to the previous month — easily topping the 1.4 percent decline projected in a Reuters poll.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.17 percent. Shares of Samsung Electronics declined 0.48 percent while rival chipmaker SK Hynix reversed early losses to climb 0.27 percent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.54 percent following the fall in base metals seen overnight. The materials sector led losses on the index, trading lower by 1.69 percent in the early going. Major mining names recorded significant declines: Rio Tinto fell 2.77 percent, BHP tumbled 2.46 percent and Fortescue Metals slid 2.35 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index pulled back 0.44 percent after notching a record close on Tuesday. Financials were a mixed picture after rising in the last session: HSBC Holdings and China Construction Bank clung to gains, edging higher by 0.12 percent, while insurer AIA declined 0.59 percent.
Technology names were also broadly lower, although index heavyweight Tencent traded 0.14 percent higher.
On the mainland, the Shanghai composite bucked the overall downward trend to eke out slight gains, climbing 0.34 percent in the morning. The Shenzhen composite, however, slid 0.91 percent. The blue chip CSI 300 index was higher by 0.25 percent.
Stateside, stock indexes closed in negative territory despite trading at record highs earlier in the session. The Dow Jones industrial average cracked the 26,000 barrier on Tuesday, but later reversed gains to finish the session lower by 0.04 percent, or 10.33 points, at 25,792.86.
Those declines came despite expectation-topping earnings reports as markets focused on the chances of a government shutdown stateside in the scenario Congress fails to pass a spending bill by Friday.
Bitcoin nurses losses
Bitcoin pared some losses after tumbling below the $10,000 mark on U.S. cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase. The broad sell-off in digital currencies saw bitcoin tumble more than 28 percent at one point. At 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN, bitcoin traded at $11,303.49, according to industry site CoinDesk.
Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, traded at $1,049.73 after falling around 30 percent earlier.
Other cryptocurrencies fared even worse.
The declines followed comments from South Korean authorities that indicated tougher regulation on digital currency trading was being considered. That said, there was no immediately apparent driver behind the most recent decline.
Shares of Asian companies exposed to bitcoin also saw declines on the day. In Japan, Remixpoint declined 4.4 percent, Ceres sank 10.12 percent and GMO Internet fell 7.3 percent. South Korean bitcoin-associated plays also plunged: Vidente lost 18.27 percent and Kakao tumbled 3.56 percent.
Dollar continues to slide
In currency markets, the dollar inched lower after pausing for breath in the last session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was steady at 90.303 at 9:58 a.m. HK/SIN.
Against the yen, the dollar was mostly flat at 110.56.
Meanwhile, the euro edged higher after pulling back from three-year highs in the last session. The common currency traded at $1.2291 after falling as low as $1.2193 on Tuesday.
Those overnight declines had followed news the European Central Bank might not adjust its policy stance at its January meeting. Doubts surrounding coalition talks in Germany also weighed on the common currency in the last session.
On the energy front, oil prices edged up after retreating from their highest levels in three years overnight. U.S. crude futures tacked on 0.28 percent to trade at $63.91 per barrel. Brent crude futures rose 0.27 percent to $69.34.
