Asia markets lost some momentum on Thursday, even as global markets recovered from their post-Brexit plunge.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 nicked up 9.09 points, or 0.1%, to 15,575.92
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index spiked 358.25 points, or 1.8%, to 20,794.37
The Japanese yen weakened to 102.48 against the U.S. dollar, compared with Wednesday's levels near 102.25 in the afternoon.
In company news, shares of Hyundai Motor dropped 2.5% at market close. Reuters reported that shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy and privately held Hyundai Samho Heavy sold shares in the South Korean automaker to raise 226.1 billion won. Hyundai Heavy shares closed up 0.5%
Elsewhere, shares of Mitsubishi Heavy closed up 3.6%. Daiwa Securities raised its rating on the stock to outperform. One Analyst said the shares appeared undervalued and that he expected operating profit growth ahead despite the recent sharp appreciation of the yen.
In Singapore, bank shares shrugged off news that Moody's cut its outlook for the city-state's banking system to negative from stable, citing rising risks to the banks' asset quality and profitability from high exposure to the energy sector and domestic firms' high leverage.
UOB tacked on 2.5%, DBS added 1.7%and OCBC rose 1.9%
Analysts said the rally in global financial markets' recovery from a post-vote rout suggested diminishing importance of the Brexit crisis in the short term. But uncertainty over the U.K.'s future persisted as Britain had yet to invoke Article 50, which would formally begin exit talks with the European Union.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 added 2.53 points, or 0.1%, to 3,153.92
In Korea, the Kospi increased 13.99 points, or 0.7%, to 1,970.35
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index strengthened 48.2 points, or 1.7%, to 2,840.93
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 80.02 points, or 0.9%, to 8,666.58
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 climbed 93.33 points, or 1.4%, to 6,897.54
The ASX 200 jumped 90.98 points, or 1.8%, to 5,233.38
