Asian Stocks Pare Best Weekly Gain Since July as Topix Declines
- MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s valuation near June 2015 high
- Gauge of Chinese mainland shares in Hong Kong halt 5-day gain
Asian stocks fell for the first time in six days, with the regional benchmark gauge paring the biggest weekly advance since July, as Japanese exporters retreated and a rally in Hong Kong equities lost steam.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.2 percent to 142.00 as of 4:10 p.m. in Hong Kong, halting a five-day increase. The measure has advanced 3.6 percent this week. The Topix index lost 0.2 percent as Japanese markets resumed trading following a holiday on Thursday and the yen firmed against the dollar after the Bank of Japan didn’t move deeper into negative interest-rate territory. Moves by the Federal Reserve to scale back its tightening plans and the BOJ’s decision to tweak its stimulus this week helped ease concerns that central banks might taper efforts to stimulate global growth.