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Market Update

Asian Markets Down; Track Wall Street Losses

Asian markets fell Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and a drop in commodity prices.

The Nikkei fell 1.9%. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.6% while the Hang Seng was 1.6% lower. The Sensex edged down 0.1% while the All Ordinaries gave up 0.6%.

January housing finance data was flat in Australia which was better than expected as against expectations for a decline of 0.5% month-on-month.

But consumer sentiment fell for the fourth time in a row as revealed by the Westpac/Melbourne Institute survey, falling 0.7% to touch 99.5, the lowest since May 2013. A number below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. Retailers promptly responded by going on sale.

Later today, the Reserve Bank of Australia's deputy Governor Phillip Lowe is expected to give a speech in Sydney and the Bank of Japan's monthly economic report is also due, as is the February Consumer Confidence Survey.

Crude oil prices were pressured in Asia after data Tuesday in the U.S. showed a healthy gain in stocks which rose 2.6 million barrels, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The U.S. Energy department will release separate stocks data later Wednesday.

Miners' shares were weighed by a drop of over 2% overnight in copper prices.

Stocks on the Move

Exporters were lower in Tokyo with index heavyweights Sony and Fanuc down 1% and 2.9% each, respectively.

Nintendo was down 1.3% while Konami Corp. fell 2.5%.

Toyota and Honda Motor both reversed 1.8% each. The Nikkei newspaper reported Honda is set to increase salaries by $21, less than the amount the union was seeking. Toyota is also set to raise pay by about $26, according to Kyodo News.

Sharp gave up all of its gains and was flat after trading over 2% higher earlier in the session. Shares initially rallied on reports it may team up with U.S. cable provider Comcast for flat-screen televisions.

Chinese insurers were down in Hong Kong after the industry's regulator sent urgent notices to companies to quickly settle claims due to the missing Malaysian jet plane. The plane was carrying 239 passengers, 154 of them Chinese.

Ping An Insurance Group was down 1.2% while China Life Insurance Company tumbled 3.5%.

Belle International Holdings fell about 10% after the footwear retailer reported a drop in same-store sales for the three months ended Feb. 28.

Shares of Chinavision Media Group skyrocketed over 22% after the company received an investment of HKD6.24 billion from Alibaba Group in return for a 60% stake.

The Sensex was flat in morning trade in Mumbai after closing at a record high Tuesday. Sun Pharma was up 3.1%. Among losers, BHEL fell 1.9% while L&T, Axis Bank, SBI, ONGC, and Maruti Suzuki were also all down over 1.5% each.

In Sydney, some miners were lower as copper prices fell. OZ Minerals was down 2.6% while Sandfire Resources fell 1.4%. BHP Billiton traded flat. Rio Tinto edged up 0.1%.

Retailers were all lower with Wesfarmers and David Jones down about a percent and 1.8% each, respectively. Harvey Norman Holdings dropped 1.6%. Myer Holdings and Woolworths both declined about half a percent each.

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