Most Asian stocks lower; Nikkei down 0.56%

Most Asian stocks traded lower Thursday as some strong U.S. housing data once again had traders mulling a potentially quick end to quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. 

In Asian trading Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.56%. Asian stocks sagged as investors also fretted about slow earnings growth and slack economic data. 

Earlier Wednesday, the Bank Of Japan said that Japan’s corporate services price index rose 0.4% last month following a 0.3% increase in May. Analysts expected a June increase of 0.7%. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.41% while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.45%. 

In U.S. economic news out Wednesday, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index climbed to 57 this month from 51 last month. The July reading reading is the highest since January 2006. Readings above 50 indicate builders view the market as good. 

New home sales advanced 8.3%, the best rate in five years. The seasonally adjusted rate was 497,000 units. Economists expected 484,000. May's sales rate was also revised up to 459,000. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index eased by 0.4%. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.64% after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler made comments that boosted the kiwi. 

"Although removal of monetary stimulus will likely be needed in the future, we expect to keep the OCR unchanged through the end of the year," said Wheeler in a statement. "The extent of the monetary policy response will depend largely on the degree to which the growing momentum in the housing market and construction sector spills over into inflation pressures." 

RBNZ pledged to keep rates at 2.5%, but a rate hike early next year is on the table. 

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.01% even after Asia’s fourth-largest economy reported second-quarter GDP growth of 2.3%. Analysts expected growth of 2%. Second-quarter growth was 1.1% better than what was seen in the first quarter. 

Singapore’s Straits Times Index tumbled 1.11% while S&P 500 dropped 0.10%. The benchmark U.S. index is in the midst of its first two-day losing streak in over a month.