Asian stocks traded mostly lower on Thursday, adding to steep losses in the previous session as the dollar surged and Treasury yields spiked following a U.S. credit rating downgrade from Fitch and better-than-expected ADP employment data. <\/p>\n
Gold held near three-week lows while oil prices were up slightly after settling down about 2 percent in the U.S. trading session overnight. <\/p>\n
U.S. private sector employment increased by 324000 jobs in July, well in advance of consensus forecast of 190,000 roles, and annual pay was up 6.2 percent year-over-year, adding to pressure on the Federal Reserve to maintain restrictive policy.<\/p>\n
Investors also await Apple Inc. earnings due later today, with the iPhone maker expected to report its third consecutive year-over-year revenue decline. Amazon will also unveil its quarterly earnings later in the day.<\/p>\n
Chinese shares fell, with the Shanghai Composite index falling around 0.2 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on Chinese stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.1 percent.<\/p>\n
Japan’s Nikkei average was down over 1 percent as the yen held firm and data showed service sector activity in the country softened in July. <\/p>\n
Seoul stocks were seeing modest losses, with the Kospi average down about 0.3 percent amid concerns about the recent rise in Treasury yields and the steepening of the yield curve. <\/p>\n
Australian markets<\/span> traded lower, with tech and commodity-related stocks pacing the declines. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 was down half a percent. <\/p>\n Across the Atlantic, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P NZX-50 index was down 0.3 percent. <\/p>\n U.S. stocks and bonds suffered a wave of selling overnight after a surprise downgrade of the country’s debt rating by Fitch, citing fiscal deterioration and repeated debt ceiling standoffs.<\/p>\n Also, data showed U.S. private sector employment jumped by much more than expected in July, reviving Fed rate hike bets. <\/p>\n The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.2 percent while the Dow lost 1 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 1.4 percent.<\/p>\n European stocks also closed sharply lower on Wednesday amid worries about slowing global growth and the mounting cost to finance U.S. debt as interest rates rise.<\/p>\n The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both fell around 1.4 percent while France’s CAC 40 shed 1.3 percent. <\/p>\n