New data on US consumer credit from the Federal Reserve revealed a downturn in February and added to the downward pressure on the Asian stock markets on Thursday.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index declined by 61.73 points (or 0.28%) at 21867.04points, with the worst affected being the property sector with a drop of 1.25%. Within the sector the biggest loser was Hang Lung Properties Ltd., which saw its share price drop by 3.23%.
Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also dropped by 132.51 points (or 1.02%) at 12588.31 points.
The People’s Bank of China auctioned 15bn Yuan of three-year bills in its open market operation on Thursday, and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.94% at 3118.7 points on Thursday.
The news that orders for Japan's core machinery unexpectedly fell in February led the beleaguered Japanese stock market to drop another 1.1% on Thursday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped by 124.63 points (or 1.1%) to 11168.2 points after a slightly increase of 0.093% on Wednesday.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 23 points (or 0.46%) to 4973.9 points.
And in Singapore the Straits Times Index declined 19.58 points (0.66%) to 2968.52 points.
