Investing.com– Asian stocks retreated on Wednesday as strength in the yen spurred a further unwinding in the carry trade, while losses in e-commerce major JD.com dragged down Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index.
Regional markets tracked overnight weakness in Wall Street, as U.S. stocks snapped an eight-day rebound rally amid some caution before an address by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this week.
U.S. stock index futures moved little in Asian trade.
Hang Seng falls, JD.com sinks on report of Walmart stake sale
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was one of the worst performers in Asia on Wednesday, losing 0.7%.
JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) (HK:9618) was the biggest weight on the index, with the stock sinking around 11% after Bloomberg reported that Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was planning to sell its stake in the e-commerce giant for $3.74 billion.
Jd Health International Inc (HK:6618), which is a unit of the e-commerce firm, fell nearly 4%, while rival Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) (HK:9988) fell 2%.
Wednesday’s losses saw JD largely reverse recent gains made on stronger-than-expected earnings for the June quarter. But the firm faces increased headwinds from slowing demand in China, its biggest market.
The Hang Seng was also headed back towards an over three-month low hit earlier in August. Concerns over slowing growth in China had battered sentiment towards local markets.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell about 0.2% on Wednesday, and were in sight of recent six-month lows.
Japan’s Nikkei sinks as yen appreciates
