Asian stocks started falling for the second straight day on a day as the yen rallied further against the US dollar. The price of crude oil fell, as did copper futures. The regional benchmark, the MSCI Asia Pacific was down 0,1% to 141.42 as of 9:02am in Tokyo. Japan's Topix was down 0,4% while the yen was firmly positioned at 101.28 to the dollar after already rising yesterday for the first time in four days.
According to a Bloomberg survey, applications for unemployment benefits should have grown in the US. Yesterday's data showed that house prices have risen the most since 2006, while consumer confidence fell (to 70,4 vs. 72.4), despite market expectations signaling otherwise. On the international political front, the leader of a protest movement in Thailand, a country where interest rates are currently being reviewed, has asked for the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. An unarmed fleet of American B-52 bombers flew over an air defense zone set up by China and rejected by Japan.
"Data on the US budget are still obscure," comments Matthew Sherwood, head of investment markets research at Perpetual in Sydney. “And most importantly, markets were surprised by the consumer confidence reading.” Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed in the morning, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 0,5%.
