Tokyo stocks lead Asia down as yen strengthens

Hong Kong - Tokyo stocks led a mild retreat on Asian markets on Wednesday as the dollar weakened against the yen on US government figures which showed a decline in productivity.

The dollar dropped to ¥101.32 from ¥101.88 in New York and was sharply down from ¥102.44 in Tokyo on Tuesday, after the US Labour Department reported second-quarter productivity had fallen 0.5%.

The Japanese unit is seen as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, but a stronger yen is negative for Japanese shares as it dampens the overseas profitability of exporters.

Oil prices also extended losses in Asian trade as investors continued to digest news of an unscheduled OPEC meeting next month - an announcement that fuelled speculation of possible action to stabilise the market.

"Despite good leads from European markets, falling commodity prices and weaker US productivity are expected to dampen investor enthusiasm today," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a commentary to clients.

Tokyo eased 0.3% by the break, with Toyota, factory robot maker Fanuc and cosmetics maker Shiseido among those seeing declines.

Sydney slipped 0.4% even as Australia's Commonwealth Bank posted a record Aus$9.23bn (US$7.08bn) in annual profit.

Australia's biggest bank sounded a cautious note about the country's economic outlook however, with chief executive Ian Narev warning that the nation's nominal growth, which is not adjusted for inflation, needed to strengthen.

Seoul was flat while Jakarta and Manila were also down.

Shanghai was also flat after rallying on Tuesday following producer price data for July that provided signs of improving conditions for the world's second-largest economy.

Hong Kong was up 0.6%.

'Tough for Japan'

The US productivity figure marks a decline for the third consecutive quarter, and may reduce the odds of a US interest rate hike in the near future.

Surprisingly robust US jobs data published Friday had helped keep the dollar strong in recent days.

"It's going to be quite tough for Japan with the yen strengthening," Nicholas Teo, a Singapore-based strategist at KGI Fraser Securities, told Bloomberg News.

Japanese markets are also preparing to close on Thursday for a public holiday, which analysts say will be having an impact.

"Investors won't be inclined to take on big risks," Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist in Tokyo with SMBC Nikko Securities, also told Bloomberg.

A fall in some Asia stocks comes despite a positive lead from Europe and the US.

While the German DAX recorded a 2.5% increase following better-than-expected export data, the Nasdaq rose 0.2% to ¥5 225.48 - its second record in the last three trading sessions, following gains by large technology companies.

London closed higher as figures showed retail sales surprisingly recovered in Britain during July despite uncertainty triggered by the vote to exit the European Union.