Nikkei 225 drives Asian markets decline as Yen firms up

The Asian stocks markets extended the weakness into a second day this Tuesday, largely weighed down by heavy selling seen in the Japanese stocks amid yen’s relative strength, following potential Japanese stimulus disappointment. A local media report indicated the government's highly anticipated stimulus package may not live up to expectations.

Rest of Asia outside China also bore the brunt of the Nikkei sell-off, while lower oil prices combined with negative close on the Wall Street overnight also dampened investors’ sentiment.

Focus remains on the Fed monetary policy decision and BOJ’s policy outcome, with the Fed expected to leave interest rates unchanged, while the BOJ is widely expected to add to stimulus at the end of a two-day meeting on July 29, with 32 of the 41 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicting policy makers will expand their record program. 

Meanwhile, the Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 dives -1.55% to 16,362, on the back of a weaker USD/JPY, down -0.95% on the day. The Australian markets follow suit, with the S&P/ASX 200 now losing -0.32% to trade around 5,515 points.

The Chinese equities buck the trend and move higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index up 0.48%; the CSI300 index gains +0.49%. While Hong Kong markets rally  0.70% around 22,150 levels.