Asia markets closed mixed on Thursday as investors digested fresh earnings reports and awaited the outcome of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two-day policy meeting, due Friday.
The Nikkei 225 hurtled lower 187.98 points, or 1.1%, to 16,476.84
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 44.65 points, or 0.2%, to 22,174.34
In Japan, the BOJ began its two-day meeting. Analysts broadly expect the BOJ will introduce fresh stimulus measures, which could include pushing interest rates deeper into negative territory or expanding its asset-purchase program, which buys securities including Japanese government bonds and exchange-traded funds.
On the fiscal front, on Wednesday, Japanese media agency Jiji reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was preparing a stimulus package worth 28 trillion yen ($265.30 billion U.S.), which exceeded initial estimates of around 20 trillion yen.
The yen strengthened to the 104 handle against the U.S. dollar Thursday morning, trading as high as 104.50 before retreating to 104.66, compared with levels near 107 in the previous week, as traders await the BOJ's decision due Friday.
In company news, shares of Samsung Electronics closed down 1.3% after the smartphone maker announced its second-quarter earnings before market open.
Samsung reported revenue of 50.94 trillion won for the quarter ended June 30, a 2.4-trillion-won increase on-year, while operating profit for the same period was at 8.14 trillion won, a 1.24-trillion-won uptick on-year.
Nintendo shares, meanwhile, closed down 5.5% at 21,080 yen, as traders reacted to its first-quarter operating losses of $47.33 million U.S., which the Japanese gaming company announced on Wednesday after market close.
Shares of major Australian miner BHP Billiton closed up 0.6% at 19.97 Australian dollars, despite a media report that said the miner will book a charge of up to $1.3 billion U.S. to cover the costs of a dam disaster at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil last November.
BHP Billiton may have tracked other Australian iron-ore producers higher after the metal's price rose overnight, although its gain lagged peers Fortescue and Rio Tinto, which tacked on 4.8% and 2.1% respectively.
South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer LG Electronics said its operating profit for the quarter ended June 30, was at 584.6 billion South Korean won ($519.41 million U.S.), more than doubling on-year.
The mobile communications division, however, slipped to an operating loss of 153.5 billion won on-year, as the company said it sold 13.9 million units of smartphones in the quarter, down 1% on-year.
The results were released after the South Korean market closed for the day. LG Electronics shares finished down 2.1% at 55,000 won.
CHINA
Mainland Chinese markets finished mixed after selling off on Wednesday following reports that said Beijing was considering cracking down on risky wealth management products.
The Shanghai CSI 300 eked back up 2.9 points, or 0.1%, to 3,221.14
Reuters reported on Wednesday that draft rules from the China Banking Regulatory Commission targeted riskier assets, which were often packaged into high-yielding wealth management products (WMPs) by smaller banks and financial institutions.
Banks could also see lower funding costs as households view WMPs as substitutes for bank deposits and removing the perception that WMPs are risk-free could spur inflows into bank deposits
In other markets
The Taiex Index in Taiwan gained 13.25 points, or 0.2%, to 9,076.64
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index shed 22.87 points, or 0.8%, to 2,918.62
In Korea, the Kospi eased 3.95 points, or 0.2%, to 2,021.1
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 inched higher 4.44 points, or 0.1%, to 7,306.34
The ASX 200 gained 16.86 points, or 0.3%, to 5,556.56
