Asian stocks dropped, with a gauge of Chinese shares in Hong Kong flirting with a bear market, after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the region’s biggest economy. Japan’s Topix Index slid after the yen headed for its longest streak of gains since May.
Nikkei 225 14,327.66 -488.32 -3.30%
S&P/ASX 200 5,329.4 -83.22 -1.54%
Shanghai Composite 2,003.36 -15.75 -0.78%
BHP Billiton Ltd., a mining company that gets about 29 percent of sales from China, slipped 2 percent in Sydney.
Toyota Motor Corp., a carmaker that counts North America as its biggest market, fell 3 percent in Tokyo.
Olam International Ltd. surged 11 percent in Singapore after a unit of Temasek Holdings Pte. offered to buy the rest of the commodity trader in a deal valued at S$5.3 billion ($4.2 billion).