Taipei Times
Date: Feb 07, 2016
By: Bloomberg

Asian stocks fell on Friday, with the regional benchmark index heading for a weekly loss, after Japanese shares declined as the strengthening yen pressured major exporters.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3 percent to 120.83 as of 4:04pm in Hong Kong. The measure is poised for a 0.5 percent decline this week as Japan’s Topix index erased its gains from the Bank of Japan’s stimulus on Jan. 29 and the yen headed for its biggest weekly advance since 2009. Investors are awaiting Friday’s US monthly payrolls report after data showed factory orders fell in December last year.

“The Bank of Japan has done what they should, but what they could do had its limits,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc in Tokyo. “Until now, the view on the US economy was that it was recovering, but the pace was not as fast as hoped. Now there is some concern in the market that it may actually be contracting.”     [FULL  STORY]