Asia stocks mostly lower on profit-taking after choppy session
Asian equities ended mostly lower on Thursday as profit-taking offset a record close on Wall Street overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its 15th record-high close of the year thanks to a rally in tech shares after Intel posted strong third-quarter guidance.
Economic data also underpinned U.S. gains. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book found the economy expanding at a modest to moderate pace with consumer spending up in all of the Fed's districts. Another report had U.S. factory output increasing for a fifth month in June.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 38,787.38 | -132.88 | -0.34% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 19,553.61 | +177.08 | +0.91% |
| .AXJO | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | SHANGHAI | 3,154.03 | +31.63 | +1.01% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | KOSPI | 2,724.62 | -28.38 | -1.03% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 9,786.04 | -9.96 | -0.10% |
ASX flat
Australia's benchmark managed to end at its highest level since May 28, extending gains into a sixth straight session, thanks to a rally amid resources. The index briefly touched a six-year peak of 5,561 points earlier in the session.
Mount Gibson soared over 5 percent after posting record full-year sales and revenue while Oil producer Woodside Petroleum added 1 percent after reporting a 24.8 percent annual rise in second-quarter sales revenue.
Alumina rallied 2.5 percent after aluminum prices touched a sixteen-month high overnight.
Shanghai down 0.6%
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite extended losses into a second day, retreating further from a one-month high of 2,075 points touched on Wednesday's session.
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Property developers fell ahead of the release of June home price data on Friday. China Vanke and China Merchants Property fell over 1 percent each.
In Hong Kong, casino Sands China fell over 1 percent after Las Vegas Sands reported weaker-than-expected earnings in U.S. trade.
Nikkei flat
Japanese shares erased gains after climbing to fresh one-and-a-half-week highs earlier in the day, extending losses into a second day.
Sumitomo Electric Industries rallied 1.1 percent after U.S. manufacturer 3M said it would buy pay about $885 million for Sumitomo's stake in their Japanese joint venture.
Air bag manufacturer Takata fell over 4 percent after BMW said it would recall 1.6 million cars worldwide to replace the Japanese company's faulty air bags.
Kospi adds 0.3%
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index ended at its highest levels in over seven months, one day after finishing at a two-week high. Sentiment rose after data released before the market open showed June producer prices rising for the first time in 20 months.
Among top gainers, LG Electronics and LG Display rallied over 3 percent each.
India higher
India's NSE index inched up 0.1 percent on caution ahead of earnings releases later in the day.