Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street slump triggered by strong US spending data
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares skidded Tuesday following a slump on Wall Street after higher yields in the U.S. bond market cranked up pressure on stocks.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.7% to 3,007.07 even though the Chinese government reported that the economy grew at a surprisingly fast 5.3% annual rate in the first quarter of the year. In quarterly terms it expanded at a 1.6% pace.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 2.1% to 16,248.97.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.9% to 38,471.20 as the dollar continued to gain against the Japanese yen, hitting fresh 34-year highs. By late afternoon the dollar was trading at 154.41 yen, up from 154.27 yen.
The euro slipped to $1.0621 from $1.0626.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s Taiex led the regional decline, falling 2.7%. Markets in Bangkok were closed for Songkran holidays.
In South Korea, the Kospi declined 2.3% to 2,609.63, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.8% to 7,612.50.