Staying with China, Country Garden said on Tuesday it has not paid two dollar bond coupons due on Aug. 6 totaling $22.5 million, confirming market fears that the biggest privately-owned developer in China is slipping into repayment troubles.
Hong Kong’s benchmark property index lost nearly 5% on Tuesday, and with sentiment already badly soured by the trade figures, China’s blue chip CSI 300 index fell for a second day and the yuan fell to a four-week low against the dollar.
On the Asian corporate calendar, Bridgestone, Honda and Sony are among the major Japanese firms publishing their latest earnings reports on Wednesday.
Asian stocks will likely open on the defensive after the downgrading of several U.S. lenders by Moody’s reignited fears about the health of U.S. banks and the economy.
Moody’s cut ratings on 10 small- to mid-sized lenders by one notch and placed six banking giants on review for potential downgrades. After coming within 5% of their lifetime highs last month, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have both fallen five sessions out of six so far this month.
