Asian bourses turned cautious on Tuesday after North Korea launched a missile, with the Reserve Bank of Australia keeping rates unchanged.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 23.45 points, or 0.1%, to 20,032.35
The Hang Seng Index swooned 395.16 points, or 1.5%, to 25,389.01. Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market Index tumbled more than 1% to what media outlets are calling a fresh record low
Shares of automakers in Japan mostly traded higher despite the overall decline in U.S. auto sales for the month of June. Among brands, Toyota said sales increased by 2.1% on-year. Nissan also reported a 2% rise in sales. Toyota shares closed up 1.9% and Nissan shares were 1% higher.
South Korean automakers fared worse after Hyundai reported a drop in U.S. sales for June. Hyundai closed down 3.1% and Kia Motorsfell 1.8%.
Shares of petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan sank 11.2% following news the company plans to issue new shares. The Idemitsu family, who founded the company and control a third of its shares, are against the management's plans to merge with Showa Shell Sekiyu. The plan to sell new shares would reduce the family's stake in the company and remove their right to veto.
Analysts have also said it was doubtful that the Idemitsu family could block the offering as it had been positioned as part of financial strategy
North Korea launched a missile on Tuesday, with officials saying it may have landed within Japan's exclusive economic zone.
The yen strengthened following the news to trade at 112.94 to the U.S. dollar late in the day Tuesday. The greenback had earlier traded close to a seven-week high of around 113.46 yen hit overnight against the yen before the missile launch.
Australian markets shrugged off the North Korea tidings and bounced higher, on broad-based gains across the majority of its sub-indexes. The financials sub-index traded higher by 2.2%.
The RBA kept interest rates unchanged at 1.5% on Tuesday, as was widely expected. Following the news, the Australian dollar, which had been trading around $0.7678 U.S. ahead of the news, fell to trade as low as $0.7601. The Aussie dollar was trading at $0.7615 late afternoon local time.
Banking stocks rallied in Australia following news that opposition lawmakers in South Australia had decided to oppose a bank levy in the state. Shares of Westpac closed up 3.3% and National Australia Bank was up 2.8%
CHINA
The CSI 300 dwindled 30.87 points, or 0.9%, to 3,619.98,
Media reports said shares of Wanda Film, Dalian Wanda's film business, listed in Shenzhen have been suspended from trade due to a pending announcement
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index docked 65.01 points, or 0.6%, to 10,347.78
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 13.96 points, or 0.6%, to 2,380.52
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 12.29 points, or 0.4%, to 3,211.17
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 32.22 points, or 0.4%, to 7,620.64
In Australia, the ASX 200 ballooned 99.33 points, or 1.8%, to 5,783.82
