Asian Stocks Fall After Dismal US GDP Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks fell broadly on Friday after overnight data showed the world's biggest economy shrank by an annualized rate of 1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, the first contraction since early 2011 despite resilient demand from consumers. Investors also looked ahead to Chinese official PMI data slated for release over the weekend and the June 5 policy meeting of the European Central Bank for further clues on the global economic outlook.

Japanese shares ended slightly lower, snapping a six-day winning streak as investors locked in some profits reacting to a slew of economic data that painted a mixture picture of the economy. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 49 points or 0.34 percent to 14,632.38, while the broader Topix Index gained 0.06 percent. Brokerage, pulp and paper stocks paced the declines. Heavyweight Fast Retailing dropped 1.3 percent and Fanuc shed 0.9 percent, while SoftBank Corp advanced 1.5 percent.

Exporters closed mixed, with Nissan Motor, Sony, Nikon and Kyocera closing down between 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent, while Canon, Hitachi, Sharp Corp, Honda Motor and Toyota Motor rose between 0.4 percent and 1.7 percent.

The yen edged higher against the greenback as official figures showed consumer prices in the country rose at their fastest pace in 23 years in April, diminishing chances for further easing by the Bank of Japan. Nationwide core inflation rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier, beating forecasts and up sharply from 1.3 percent in the previous month.

The jobless rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with expectations, while industrial output fell-more-than-expected to 2.5 percent in April from the previous month and household spending fell at the fastest rate in three years after a sales-tax increase.

China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.07 percent to 2,039.21 as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of a long weekend. The Chinese market will be closed on Monday for the Dragon Boat festival. Banks and property developers led the declines on worries over signs of weakness in the housing market. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, rose 0.31 percent to 23,081.65, led by gains in property developers.

Australian shares fell as an extended sell-off in iron ore prices hurt miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped half a percent to finish at 5,492.5. Mining giant BHP Billiton and rival Rio Tinto dropped about 1.3 percent each given the continuing softness in iron ore prices. Fortescue Metals Group, Iluka Resources and Bluescope Steel lost 3-4 percent. In the banking sector, Westpac, Commonwealth and ANZ fell between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, while NAB rose 0.2 percent.

Property developer Australand Property Group advanced 2.1 percent after it upgraded its profit guidance and agreed to provide larger rival Stockland Corp with access to due diligence material considering a sweetened takeover bid for $4.35 per share. Shares of Stockland, meanwhile, closed 0.3 percent higher. Envestra rose 1.1 percent after billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Group agreed to buy the Australian gas distributor in a $2.37 billion deal. Rare earths producer Lynas Corp. plunged almost 18 percent after completing a share placement.

In economic releases, total private sector credit in Australia grew 0.5 percent in April from the previous month, central bank data showed. That beat expectations for a 0.4 percent rise.

Seoul shares fell sharply on foreign fund selling. The benchmark Kospi average dropped 0.86 percent to 1,994.96. South Korea's industrial output growth slowed down in April from a month earlier, a government report showed, stoking concerns that the economic recovery is losing momentum. Output rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent from the previous month following a 0.9 percent increase a month earlier, Statistics Korea said.

New Zealand shares eked out marginal losses, with a2 Milk Company pacing the declines on the exchange after milk processor Synlait Milk lowered its profit forecast for this year by $7.5 million. The benchmark NZX-50 Index edged down 0.09 percent to 5,178.44. a2Milk shares tumbled 2.5 percent and Pacific Edge fell 1.2 percent to extend losses for the sixth straight day, while exporter Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp rallied 2.5 percent to hit an eight-year high.

Fletcher Building, the nation's largest construction company, dropped 2.1 percent to a 15-month low after official data showed building consents issued for residential housing, excluding apartments, fell 5.2 percent in April following strong gains in the previous two months. Tech shares Diligent Board Member Services and Xero fell half a percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Elsewhere, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was losing a percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was down 0.2 percent, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.3 percent and the Taiwan Weighted average lost 0.4 percent, while Indian shares were marginally higher following the previous session's sell-off.

On Wall Street, the major averages rose about half a percent each overnight, with the S&P 500 closing at a fresh record high, as investors brushed off the weak reading on first-quarter economic growth blaming an unusually cold weather for the first GDP contraction in three years. While jobless claims hit their lowest average since 2007 in the week ended May 10th, a gauge of pending home sales rose 0.4 percent in April from the previous month, missing expectations for a 1 percent rise.