South Korean and Hong Kong stocks tumbled Friday as many Asian markets ended the week with deep losses after a surprise loss from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. bruised sentiment, with Japanese shares declining after disappointing results from Sony Corp.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid 56.34 points, or 0.6%, Friday, to close a very rough week at 8,953.31
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dumped 262.65 points, or 1.3%, to 19,964.63
The day’s performance brought a poor week to an end for Asian benchmarks, with the Hang Seng Index sinking 5.3%, while the Nikkei Average skidded 4.6%.
The losses came despite a positive U.S. lead, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a six-session slump overnight, helped by a fall in jobless claims and signs of stabilization in Europe.
Several financial sector stocks were hit, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. losing 2.5% and Nomura Holdings Inc. slumping 3.2% in Tokyo, Shinhan Financial Group Co. dropping 1.8% in Seoul, Yuanta Financial Holding Co. sliding 1.9% in Taipei and Westpac Banking Corp. shedding 0.8% in Sydney.
In Hong Kong, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. dropped 1.8% and Ping An Insurance Group Co. lost 2.4%; in Shanghai, China Life Insurance Co. lost 1.5% and Bank of Communications Co. gave up 1.4%.
Sands China Ltd. rose 1.6% to defy the broad trend in Hong Kong, after Hang Seng Index compilers said Thursday the Macau casino operator’s shares would become the benchmark’s 49th constituent, effective June 4.
The index compilers also said they would add China Life Insurance Co. to the 40-issue Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks large mainland Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong. China Life’s Hong Kong-listed shares ended 1.8% lower in an overall weak market.
China Railway Construction Corp., which will leave the index, fell 0.9%.
Investors delivered a mixed reaction to earnings reports in Tokyo, with shares of Sony Corp. battered after posting its fourth straight annual loss.
Sony slumped 6.4% — after earlier diving to their lowest level in three decades — although the firm forecast a return to profit in the current fiscal year.
On the upside, Hitachi Ltd rose 3.5% as the market cheered a 45% rise in fiscal-year profit and shrugged off expectations for lower earnings this year.
Many technology names also lost ground in Seoul, as confidence in the sector was hurt after a warning of cautious spending from U.S. tech heavyweight Cisco Systems Inc. sent the Nasdaq Composite lower overnight.
Samsung Electronics Co. tumbled 3.9%.
Internet major Tencent Holdings Ltd. outperformed in Hong Kong, however, rising 0.2% after Barclays Capital upgraded the stock to overweight, noting the firm’s gaming revenues are "defensive and resilient vis-à-vis other Internet names in the space."
CHINA
Meanwhile, economic data released during the day showed the year-on-year increase in China’s consumer price index (CPI) eased in April, in line with economists’ expectations.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index docked 20.30 points to 2,636.92
In other markets;
Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 20.20 points, or 0.7%, to 2,883.40
Korea’s Kospi Index lost 27.80 points, or 1.4%, to 1,917.13
Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell 82.64 points, or 1.1%, to 7,401.37
New Zealand’s NXZ Index sifted off 20.99 points, or 0.6%, to 3,548.06
Australia’s ASX Index shed 10.48 points, or 0.2%, to 4,285.07
