Asian stock markets largely dropped in early trading Monday following declines on Wall Street on Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.71%[1] was off 0.5% even as the yen was barely higher versus other currencies. Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai’s shares 4523, -4.47%[2] continued to take a beating, falling 4.2% as it continued to drop after the U.S. FDA said last week that more testing was needed for a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug. Its shares are still up 25% for the month.
The end of Australia’s housing boom and New Zealand’s migration boom means that economic growth in both countries will probably fall short of expectations over the next couple of years, Capital Economics said. Australia may struggle to grow by much more than 2.5% a year, while GDP growth in New Zealand will probably weaken from close to 3.0% last year to about 2.0% next year. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.43%[3] was off 0.5% following Friday’s 10½-year closing high, while New Zealand’s benchmark NZ50GR, -0.60%[4] dropped 0.5%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.16%[5] was down slightly, on pace for its fourth straight decline, while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, -1.22%[6] fell 1.1%. Meanwhile, troubled vaccine maker Changsheng 002680, -5.00%[7] logged a 10th-straight drop while peer Kangtai 300601, +0.75%[8] bounced as high as 1.9% after previously hitting a three-month low.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng HSI, -0.71%[9] was down nearly 1%, as Tencent ...