Japanese stocks decline after trade data

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets giving up early gains to end sharply lower after China announced supportive measures to prop up the country's troubled property sector, albeit on a small scale.

The measures included expanding a "white list" of housing projects eligible for financing and increasing bank lending for such developments to 4 trillion yuan.

The briefing from China's housing minister lacked substantial new measures, leaving investors skeptical regarding further economic growth ahead of third-quarter GDP data due on Friday.

Gold ticked higher to hover near record levels in Asian trading even as speculation about a second Trump presidency and its potential inflationary effects contributed to a stronger dollar.

 

The euro touched an 11-week low ahead of an expected rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Oil slipped in choppy trading, extending declines for a fifth day on China demand concerns and worries over a global glut.

Japanese markets fell notably as data showed exports dropped for the first time in 10 months in September. The Nikkei average dipped 0.69 percent to 38,911.19 while the broader Topix index settled 0.11 percent lower at 2,687.83.

Tech stocks extended their losses from Wednesday, with Tokyo Electron tumbling 3.2 percent.

Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 294.3 billion yen in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. Exports fell 1.7 percent on year to 9.038 trillion yen and imports rose an annual 2.1 percent to 9.332 trillion yen.

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