BANGKOK – Asian stock markets faltered Thursday after a Federal Reserve report confirmed a slowdown in U.S. economic growth.
Oil prices jumped to above $101 per barrel after OPEC unexpectedly left its production levels unchanged. In currencies, the dollar strengthened against the yen but slipped against the euro.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.3 percent to 9,421.59. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2 percent to 2,078.64 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.6 percent to 22,515.49.
Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the embattled Japanese utility known as TEPCO, plummeted 20 percent to an all-time low, a day after a government-appointed panel launched an investigation into a nuclear accident that took place at one of the company's plants following a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
TEPCO has been struggling to get control of the plant since the quake and critics say the company was woefully unprepared for such a disaster.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent to 4,546.20, as banking and energy blue chips gained. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest miner, was 0.3 percent higher, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's largest bank by market capitalization, added 0.4 percent.
Airline shares stalled as higher fuel costs threatened to cut into profits.
Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. fell 1.8 percent, and China's three major state-owned airlines — China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China — tumbled more than 3 percent each in Hong Kong.
On Wall Street, more lackluster economic news sent stocks down Wednesday. A Federal Reserve report showed the economy slowed in several regions for the first time this year, largely due to the effect of higher oil prices.
The report added to concerns that have been building since mid-April that the American economy is stalling. High oil prices, bad weather and production disruptions following the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan have combined to dampen many investors' outlook for the rest of the year.
On Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged that the U.S. economic recovery was "uneven" and "frustratingly slow," though he added that he expected growth to pick up in the second half of the year.
The Standard and Poor's 500 lost 0.4 percent, its sixth straight loss. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.2 percent to 12,048.94. The Nasdaq composite slipped 1 percent to 2,675.38.
Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 69 cents to $101.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.65 to settle at $100.74 on Wednesday.
The dollar strengthened to 80.15 yen from 79.94 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro was up to $1.4623 from $1.4581.
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