Markets in Asia remained jittery in Thursday trade, although the escalation in tensions surrounding North Korea appeared to wane slightly.
The Nikkei 225 lost 8.97 points, or 0.1%, to 19,729.74
The Hang Seng Index plummeted 313.09 points, or 1.1%, to 27,444
Investors in Japan also digested the announcement of a third consecutive fall in core machinery orders for June. Core orders fell 1.9%, compared with a 3.7% rise forecast. While machinery orders are regarded to be a volatile metric, they could influence market sentiment.
Australian markets ended downward, amid moderate declines in the energy and financial sub-indexes.
On the earnings front, shares of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing dropped 4.3% after it said on Wednesday that its second-quarter net profit climbed 12.5% to HK$1.8 billion ($230 million U.S.), higher than an average analyst forecast of HK$1.6 billion
But Deutsche Bank kept a "sell" call on the stock, noting that better-than-expected results were boosted by one-off gains. It added that the stock was trading at a "very expensive" around 40 times consensus one-year forward earnings forecasts, and that its yield of 2% made it "unattractive" as a dividend play.
Other market movers in Hong Kong included shares of Wanda Hotel Development, which resumed trade Thursday after a one-day trading halt. Shares of Wanda Hotel jumped 19.8% on headlines it would be buying assets totaling seven billion yuan ($1.05 billion U.S.) from firms controlled by Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin.
Australian financial services provider AMP reported half-yearly underlying profit increased 4% to A$533 million ($420 million U.S.) — higher than the A$514.5 million forecast in an economists’ poll. Its net profit came in at A$445 million ($351.8 million U.S.), under the A$523 million reported last year. AMP stock tumbled 2.6%
Shares of Virgin Australia jumped 5.7%, while shares of rival Qantas tacked on 2.5%
Virgin Australia reported on Friday an underlying profit-before-tax loss of A$3.7 million for the full fiscal year, but Citi said in a note that the result was better than its expectation for a loss of A$32.2 million amid a recovery in international operations.
Citi said the results held positive implications for Qantas as it was encouraging for the strength of the domestic market.
Australian shares of organic baby food maker Bellamy's jumped 7.8% after it said in a stock exchange filing that China had lifted the suspension of its factory's license to export to the mainland.
In Japan, shares of Japan Display tumbled 7.7% to 180 yen as the market gave the company's restructuring plan, released on Wednesday, a thumbs down.
Nomura cut its target on the stock to 185 yen from 220 yen, but kept a "neutral" call.
Shares of iconic cup-noodle maker Nissin Foods dropped 5% despite the company reporting net profit for the June quarter rose to 5.76 billion yen, up 92% on-year.
Citi said in a note that the results missed its forecasts amid higher advertising costs and a sluggish instant-noodle business in Brazil, but it kept a "buy" call and said share price weakness could be temporary.
In Hong Kong, shares of SMIC shed 6.7%
Citi said in a note on Wednesday that SMIC's second-quarter net profit, down 63% on-year, missed its forecasts on lower utilization and less research funding from the government. It cut the stock to "neutral" from "buy."
The New Zealand dollar took a wild ride after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept interest rates steady at 1.75% on Thursday. Mizuho said in a morning note that while the on-hold call was expected, the central bank's stance was "less dovish than expected."
The kiwi dollar initially popped higher, rising from around $0.7330 U.S. before the announcement to as high as $0.7371 afterward, before falling back to as low as $0.7260 after media reports RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler later said he wanted a weaker currency and indicated the central bank had intervention capability.
Demand for safe-haven assets moderated after gaining overnight in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's Tuesday warning of "fire and fury" if North Korea continued to make threats against the U.S. The hermit state responded to Trump's rhetoric by suggesting it could strike Guam.
Meanwhile, the Japanese currency traded at 109.94 yen to the U.S. dollar late afternoon local time, with the dollar marginally recovering after hitting an overnight low of 109.87 yen.
But the Korean won continued to lose ground, with the greenback fetching as much as 1,144.50 won in Asia trade on Thursday, compared with as little as 1,127 won earlier in the week. The dollar was at 1,141.85 won around noon local time.
In other markets
The CSI 300 dropped 15.12 points, or 0.4%, to 3,715.92
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index returned from holiday to gain 5.16 points, or 0.2%, to 3,323.24
In Taiwan, the Taiex index lost 140.64 points, or 1.3%, to 10,329.74
In Korea, the Kospi index lopped off 8.92 points, or 0.4%, to 2,359.47
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dipped 9.93 points, or 0.1%, to 7,789.71
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 4.73 points, or 0.1%, to 5,760.93
