Most Asian stocks retreated Tuesday, giving back some of the steep gains made the previous day, as initial enthusiasm over Spain’s bank bailout gave way to doubts over the details and as investors looked ahead to Greek’s weekend elections.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index settled 88.18 points, or 1%, to 8,536.72
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong doffed 81.07 points, or 0.4%, to 18,953.63
The pullback follows solid gains recorded in Asia Monday on news that Spain’s banks could accept up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion U.S.) in aid. But the cheer evaporated in European and U.S. trading, as investors fretted about the finer points of the proposed aid package, pushing yields on Spanish bonds higher.
Investors also looked ahead to Greece’s elections Sunday amid fears the result may lead to the country’s exit from the euro-zone.
Europe-exposed stocks were among the losers in Asia, as Hong Kong-listed banking group HSBC Holdings PLC lost 0.8%, and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. gave up 1.5%.
Worries about Europe sent the euro below the 99-yen mark for much of the morning after spending most of the previous Japanese stock session above ¥100. While the European currency rebounded a little to ¥99.39 by the afternoon, the move still hurt exporters with large European Union exposure.
Sony Corp. lost 2.1%, Mazda Motor Co. retreated 2.9%, and Pioneer Corp. fell 2.7%.
Electronics firm LG Electronics Inc. declined 2.8% in Seoul, while Samsung Electronics Co. lost 1%.
Energy firms were among the worst performers in the region, with Inpex Corp. losing 0.7% in Tokyo, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. gave up 0.6% in Sydney and Cnooc Ltd. dropped 0.8% in Hong Kong, while shares of PetroChina Co. fell 0.8% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai.
Large miners fell in Australia, reversing gains seen at the end of last week, with BHP Billiton Ltd. down 0.6% and Rio Tinto Ltd. off 1.7%.
But shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. jumped 10.8% in modest volume, after an Australian Financial Review report that the airline is preparing efforts to defend against a possible hostile takeover.
Also flying among regional airliners, shares of China Southern Airlines Co. surged 6.7% in Hong Kong after announcing plans to raise up to two billion yuan ($315 million U.S.) through a private share placement to its corporate parent.
In other markets
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index shed 18.09 points, or 0.7%, to 2,540.18
Korea’s Kospi Index subtracted 12.30 points, or 0.7%, to 1,854.74
Singapore's Straits Times Index moved higher by 9.27 points, or 0.3%, to 2,797.08
Taiwan’s Taiex Index retreated 48.15 points, or 0.7%, to 7,072.08
New Zealand’s NZX index sidled back 28.64 points, or 0.8%, to 3,425.60
Australia’s ASX Index returned from holiday to gain 9.19 points, or 0.2%, to 4,072.88
