Asian stocks took a sharp drop Friday, as investors grew gloomy about the health of the global economy and prospects for central-bank action, selling down commodity and technology shares.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index shed 107.36 points, or 1.2%, to 9,070.76
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong collapsed 252.21 points, or 1.3%, to 19,880.03
One Hong Kong broker said markets were dragged lower by short-term investors locking in profits following summer gains while institutional funds remained wary of adding to positions.
U.S. stocks fell Thursday as optimism over potential easing from the Federal Reserve was tempered by comments from a Fed policy-committee member, as well as on fresh concerns about the Chinese and European economies after weak manufacturing-survey readings.
The data from China and Europe suggest "that economic activity, and hence the backdrops for corporate earnings and commodity demand, will remain fragile for a long while yet," said some economists.
In Tokyo, energy major JX Holdings Inc. dropped 1.7%, and rival Inpex Corp. fell 1.4%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Petro China fell 0.6% after the oil major reported a worse-than-expected 6% drop in first-half profit, owing to refining losses. Ping An Insurance Group‘s shares ended down 1.6% after its half-year results, released after the close of trading Thursday, showed net profit up 9.4% from a year ago.
Also in Hong Kong, metal extractor Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. lost 2.1% while Zijin Mining Group Co. fell 2.6%.
Australian miners also took a hit, with BHP Billiton Ltd. down 1%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. lower by 4.4%.
Iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. fell 6%. Iron-ore prices have fallen sharply to multi-year lows this week, and some miners are now scaling back output.
Steel makers pulled back in Japan and South Korea, with JFE Holdings Inc. down 3.5% and Nippon Steel Corp. retreating 1.2% in Tokyo, while Posco shares fell 1.8% in Seoul.
Asian financials also suffered Friday amid the gloom, with Nomura Holdings Inc. losing 2.8% in Tokyo, Macquarie Group Ltd. off 1.8% in Sydney, and Bank of China Ltd. dropping 1.3% in Hong Kong after its first-half gain in net profit just missed analyst forecasts.
Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC gave up 1.5% after S&P cut the lender’s outlook to negative, citing a U.S. money-laundering probe and other regulatory issues.
Suffering an additional drag from a still-strong yen, Japanese tech and electronics firms traded lower, with Alps Electric Co. down 5.2%, Advantest Corp. losing 1.8%, and Tokyo Electron Ltd. dropping 2.7%.
Shares of Sony Corp. fell 1.2%, with the firm planning to cut about 1,000 jobs at its former Sony Ericsson joint venture — now fully owned — as it seeks to trim costs at the smartphone unit, the Nikkei business daily reported late Thursday.
Samsung Electronics Co, lost 0.9% after a South Korean court ruled that the firm violated one of Apple Inc.’s patents, but that Apple in turn infringed on two Samsung patents. Small damages were awarded to both companies, and some products were banned in South Korea, according to reports.
Among the few gainers, Sharp Corp. rallied 5.5% higher after a Nikkei report said that two of its lenders may provide a 150-billion-yen ($1.9 billion U.S.) credit line to the firm within a month.
Also bucking the market drop, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. added 0.6% after a better-than-expected 32% jump in its first-half net income.
In other markets
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index fell 26.52 points, or 1.2%, to 2,275.68
Korea’s Kospi index retreated 22.73 points, or 1.2%, to 1,919.81
The Singapore Straits Times Index lost 5.88 points, or 0.2%, to 3,050.49
Taiwan’s Taiex Index subtracted 27.64 points, or 0.4%, to 7,477.53
New Zealand’s NZX index demurred 40.75 points, or 1.1%, to 3,622.59
Australia’s ASX Index moved downward 34.71 points, or 0.8%, to 4,349
