Chinese shares tumbled to lead a broad decline for major Asian markets Wednesday, with the Shanghai benchmark suffering this year’s worst percentage loss so far, led by mining and metal stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index settled 72.58 points, or 0.7%, to 10,182.60 Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 161.49 points, or 0.8%, to 20,885.40
The losses also weighed in Hong Kong, where Jiangxi lost 2.4% and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. gave up 2.1%. Jiangxi’s losses came after it reported a 33% increase in annual profit, but missed analyst forecasts.
Also weighed by weak earnings reports, Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. slumped 21.2% after the appliance retailer said Tuesday that higher costs limited its 2011 net-profit rise to just over 6%, also falling short of expectations. The performance earned a stock downgrade to underperform from outperform from Macquarie.
Merchandise sourcing and supplying firm Li & Fung Ltd. dropped 5.2% after raising $501 million via a share placement
In Tokyo, shares of Sharp Corp. soared by the day’s 16.3% limit following reports that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is buying a 10% stake in the Japanese firm for 66.91 billion yen ($806 million U.S).
Shares of Hon Hai jumped 4.6% in Taipei, also aided by better-than-expected quarterly results announced Tuesday, to support the broader market.
South Korean liquid crystal display makers declined following the reports. Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 0.7%, while LG Display Co. fell 4.9%.
Recent yen weakness also helped lift other exporters, with Toyota Motor Corp. rising 1.8% and Nissan Motor Co. gaining 1%.
Sony Corp. gained 2.5% after a Nikkei business news report that its money-losing television business would be placed under the direct control of the company’s new chief executive officer.
In Sydney, gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. rose 2.9% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. added 2.1%.
Banks were also higher, with Westpac Banking Corp. up 1% and National Australia Bank Ltd. 1.1% higher.
CHINA
The losses on mainland bourses came a day after data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed a 5.2% drop in profits for China’s largest industrial groups during the first two months of the year.
The Shanghai CSI 300 faded 72.24 points, or 2.8%, to 2,474.90
Mining and metal stocks were hit hard. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. fell 5.6% and Jiangxi Copper Co. fell 5.5% in Shanghai, while Yunnan Tin Co. shed 7.7% and Hebei Iron & Steel Co. declined 4.2% in Shenzhen.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 8.02 points, or 0.4%, to 2,031.74
The Taiex index in Taiwan gained 8.61 points, or 0.1%, to 8,038.07
Singapore’s Straits Times Index sifted off 2.93 points, or 0.1%, to 3,015.98
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 2.55 points, or 0.1%, to 3,486.51
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index tacked on 42.18 points, or 1%, to 4,343.51
