Japanese stocks got hit hard Friday as trading resumed for the first time in 2008, with exporters such as Nissan Motor Co. and Sony Corp. suffering heavy losses on concerns over the health of the U.S. economy as well as the impact of a strengthening yen.
The Nikkei 225 average sank 4 percent to finish at 14,691.41, its lowest level since July 2006. The broader Topix index skidded 4.3 percent to 1,411.91.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index moved 2.4 percent higher to stand at 27,519.69, recovering a large part of its losses from the previous two days, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 2.8 percent to 15,903.40.
Shares of Nissan Motor tumbled 9.2 percent and Toyota Motor Corp. lost 4.3 percent, undercut after reporting a decline in December sales in the U.S. market.
Other exporters also suffered sizable losses tied to the yen. Shares of Sony sank 6.6 percent, with Nintendo Co. shedding 4.5 percent.
In Hong Kong, Cnooc soared 5.6 percent and PetroChina surged 7.4 percent.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton added 1.9 percent and Woodside Petroleum gained 0.8 percent, while in Mumbai, shares of ONGC gained 2.8 percent. And shares of Inpex Holdings gained 0.8 percent in Tokyo, bucking the broader market's trend.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensitive index ended at 20,713.28, a gain of 1.8 percent over the previous session.
SHANGHAI: China's Shanghai Composite ended 0.8 percent higher at 5,361.57.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index gained 1.2 percent at 3,437.79.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 0.5 percent at 8,221.10.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent at 1,863.90.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent at 6,306.80.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index lost 0.6 percent at 4,010.82.
with files from other wire services
