SINGAPORE (CNBC) — Asia-Pacific markets reversed earlier gains and fell on the first day of the new quarter as investors digested positive factory activity data from a private survey in China.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.73% to close at 25,935.62, and the Topix declined 1.38% to1,845.04. Fast Retailing slipped 4%.
Sentiment at Japan’s large manufacturers worsened in the April-to-June period, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan business sentiment survey. The headline index for large manufacturers’ sentiment came in at 9, a decline from the previous quarter’s reading of 14.
“The manufacturers right now are facing a number of headwinds ranging from surging input costs to unsteady supply conditions,” said Stefan Angrick, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.
“Much of that, of course, has to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
In South Korea, the Kospi also reversed course to fall 1.17% to 2,305.42, and the Kosdaq was 2.14% lower 729.48.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.43%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.03%.