Asian Shares Retreat From 32-Month Highs

Asian shares retreated from a 32-month peak on Thursday as the sizzling rally in Hong Kong took a breather, while Japan's Nikkei surged due to fading concerns about further monetary tightening this year, reported Stella Qiu for Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 1%, largely driven by a 1.6% drop in Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (HSI).

EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell by 0.5%, Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3%, and S&P futures slipped 0.2%. Several Asian markets, including South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China, were closed for the day.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 1%, largely driven by a 1.6% drop in Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (HSI).

This followed a meteoric rise of more than 30% over three weeks, fueled by a flurry of Chinese stimulus measures aimed at reviving a faltering economy.

The Nikkei outperformed, jumping 2% after Japan's newly elected Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said the country was not ready for additional rate hikes following a meeting with central bank governor Kazuo Ueda.

Ueda also stated that the central bank would move cautiously when considering rate increases.

This was reinforced on Thursday by dovish Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymaker Asahi Noguchi, who emphasized that the bank must patiently maintain loose monetary conditions.