Asia markets traded mixed on Thursday, with shares of Japanese electronics maker Toshiba tumbling nearly 16% after a report suggested it was considering the sale of its semiconductor business.
The Nikkei 225 Index leaped 177.88 points, or 0.9%, to 19,072.25, as export-oriented shares received a boost from a relatively weaker yen.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong backtracked 48.3 points, or 0.2%, to 23,049.96
Toshiba shares slipped 16% at market close to 242.3 yen, after the Nikkei financial daily reported the company was considering spinning off its semiconductor business and selling a partial stake in the unit to U.S. data storage firm Western Digital.
Major exporters jumped, with Toyota advancing 1.8%, Honda climbing 2.5% and electronics maker Sharp gaining 4.6%
Takata shares were suspended from trading on Thursday according to the Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It followed media reports from Nikkei financial daily that said two potential sponsors for Takata's rehabilitation plan were asking for court involvement in the process, a move that was supported by automakers that have shouldered the cost of recalling the company's faulty air bags.
Elsewhere, Samsung Group shares pulled back slightly after initially jumping at the South Korean market open, after a court dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the conglomerate, Jay Y. Lee, amid his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that saw the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
Shares of Samsung Electronics closed up 1.5% Samsung Electro-Mechanics finished down 0.8%, while Samsung C&T shares advanced 0.8% Samsung SDI dropped 6.2% and Samsung Engineering shares fell 2.7%.
Various media reported South Korea's special prosecutor's office said it had not decided whether to make another arrest warrant request for Samsung's Lee, after the previous request was rejected by the court.
In Australia, shares of Bega Cheese led gains across the benchmark index, climbing 15.2% to A$5.16, after the company said Mondelez International would sell most of its grocery business in Australia and New Zealand, including the popular Vegemite food spread brand, to Bega Cheese for $344.68 million U.S.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 10.08 points, or 0.3%, to 3,329.29
In Korea, the Kospi inched up 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,072.79
The Straits Times Index in Singapore regained eight points, or 0.3%, to 3,008.22
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index lost 23.85 points, or 0.3%, to 9,318.12
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved up 3.09 points to 7,062.36
Australia's ASX 200 added 13.43 points, or 0.2%, at 5,692.18
