Asian stocks fell for the first time in nine days, snapping the longest winning streak on the regional gauge this year, with telecommunication and industrial shares leading declines.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.5 percent to 138.58 as of 9:40 a.m. in Tokyo, with all 10 industry groups on the gauge falling, before Hong Kong trading starts. Markets in mainland China and Thailand are closed for a holiday. The gauge climbed last week to a two-month high as U.S. data pointed to a recovery from severe winter weather and China outlined stimulus to ward off a slowdown threatening its economic-growth goal.
“Payrolls were marginally below estimates and continued to show that the U.S. recovery, while better and more sustainable, remains sub-trend,” said Matthew Sherwood, Sydney-based head of investment markets research at Perpetual Ltd., which manages about $25 billion. “This suggests that any move by the Federal Reserve is likely to be modest.”
Bloomberg
