Japan stocks posted a second straight day of drops on Thursday, as auto makers suffered heavy losses after the U.S. regulators ordered a nationwide recall of air bags made by Japanese company Takata Corp.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 plummeted 135.08 points, or 0.8%, to 17,248.50. The yen, meanwhile, strengthened versus the U.S. dollar to ¥117.41 from ¥117.62 in the prior session.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 107.70 points, or 0.5%, to 24,004.28
Auto-parts maker Takata Corporation sank 4.8%, after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered the company to recall its driver-side air bags nationwide.
Japanese auto makers suffered, with Honda Motor Co., Ltd. sliding 3.3%. Honda Motor had recalled cars with Takata airbags in March 2002, two years earlier than previously thought, according to a Reuters report.
Mazda Motor Corp. lost 2.4%, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. dropped 1.6%, and Toyota Motor Corp. gave up 0.5%. Toyota Motor said Thursday it plans to call back about 57,000 vehicles in the world due to possibly defective airbags made by Takata, Reuters said.
In Seoul, the Kospi Composite Index inched up as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. surged 5.3%, after the tech giant said it would buy back $2 billion U.S. worth of shares, the first share buyback in seven years.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 31.47 points, or 1.2%, to 2,754.49
Official data showed Thursday that China’s industrial profit swung to a decrease in October, as profits for the top companies dropped 2.1% from a year earlier, compared to a 0.4% increase for September profit.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index let go of 8.70 points, or 0.3%, to 3,340.96
The Taiex index in Taiwan advanced 42.92 points, or 0.5%, to 9,165.31
Korea’s Kospi index gained 1.25 points, or 0.1%, to 1,982.09
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 subtracted 2.01 points to 5,455.38
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 4.71 points, or 0.1%, to 5,400.92.
