Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday as investors watched for fresh signs of inflation and crude oil prices hovered above $122 a barrel, adding to price pressures.
Benchmarks declined across the region, except in Tokyo, where a weakening yen sent issues of some Japanese exporters higher.
Nintendo Co. issues surged 1.9 percent in afternoon trading, while Honda Motor Co. stocks gained more than 0.9 percent.
The Japanese yen has recently slid to fresh 20-year lows against the U.S. dollar, a trend the International Monetary Fund and other analysts expect to continue for a while because of higher interest rates in the U.S. and Europe, compared to Japan, where long-term interest rates remain at near-zero.
The dollar was trading at 133.80 Japanese yen after hitting 134 yen levels earlier in the day, down from 134.20 yen late Wednesday.
The euro cost $1.0721, inching up from $1.0718. The Governing Council of the European Central Bank is holding a monetary policy meeting later in the day. Comments from Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, have markets anticipating an interest rate hike in July, with possibly more to follow.
Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street, erasing most of their gains for the week, as investors were discouraged to see more evidence of inflation’s impact on businesses and another gloomy outlook on the global economy.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.1% to 4,115.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.8% to 32,910.90 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.7% to 12,086.27. Smaller company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 declined 1.5% to 1,891.01.
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