06:37 AM EDT, 04/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fell back Wednesday after a strong earthquake hit Taiwan, and following relatively strong US jobs and industrial reports released Tuesday that retarded expectations for rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.

A powerful quake struck Taiwan just before 8 am local time, killing at least nine, and injuring hundreds. News reports show dozens of damaged and teetering structures.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on Wall Street cues and could not recover, finishing down 1% as tech issues lost favor.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 387.06 to 39,451.85, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 119 to 103.

Leading the upside was conglomerate Itochu, up 6.4%, while civil-engineering house Shimizu lost 9%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but trailed south through the day, finishing off 1.2% on the firming outlook for interest rates.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 206.42 to 16,725.10, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 67 to 14. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.6%.

Leading the upside was aluminum producer Hongqiao, gaining 5.3%, while conglomerate CITIC lost 6.7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,069.30.

In economic news, the China Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 52.7 in March from 52.5 in February, rising further above the 50-marker that separates sector growth from contraction.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1.7%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.6%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 1.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.8%, and the Thai Set declined 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was flat.

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