Japanese stocks ended sharply down on Wednesday, leading other regional markets lower, as worries on growth and earnings weighed, while China markets gained for a second straight session on policy-easing hopes.
The Nikkei 225 Index tanked 173.36 points, or 2%, to 8,596.23
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 17.68 points, or 0.1%, to 20,919.60
Chinese aluminum firm Aluminium Corp. of China Ltd. declined 0.9% in Hong Kong.
Japanese steel stocks were hit hard, with JFE Holdings Inc. falling 1.9% and Kobe Steel Ltd. down 4.8%.
In the technology sector, a weak performance for U.S. rivals set the stage for losses in Asia. In Tokyo, Ricoh Co. lost 5.5%, Fujitsu Ltd. fell 3.1% while Panasonic Corp. declined 3.6%.
Toshiba Corp. slid 4.2%, after announcing it would buy a further 20% stake in Westinghouse Electric Co. for 125 billion yen ($1.6 billion U.S), in which it already holds majority ownership.
A decline in the dollar against the yen didn’t help matters for Japanese exporters, with the dollar buying ¥78.26 on Wednesday, down from ¥78.29 in late trading on Tuesday and ¥78.32 on Monday.
South Korean technology majors saw selling as well, with Samsung Electronics Co. down 3.7% and SK Hynix Inc. down 2.6%.
In Hong Kong, Europe-exposed banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC declined 0.7%, weighing on the market.
Shares of telecom-equipment vendor ZTE Corp. jumped 5.9% in Hong Kong as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs maintained their positive ratings on the stock following a 11% plunge in the past two days.
China car makers listed in Hong Kong saw gains. Shares of Donfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. rose 4.9% and BYD Co. added 4.2%.
Westpac Banking Corp. led losses among the major Australian banks with a drop of 0.7% after analysts at Nomura cut its rating on the shares to neutral from buy, while J.P. Morgan lowered Westpac to underweight from neutral.
CHINA
Chinese share markets recorded gains Tuesday following another large liquidity injection into the financial system by the People’s Bank of China.
The Shanghai CSI 300 index inched up 3.96 points, or 0.2%, to 2,324.12
Bank of China Ltd. advanced 1.4% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. rose 1.5% after the domestic-investment arm of China’s sovereign-wealth fund increased its stakes in both firms over the third quarter of 2012.
In other markets
The Singapore Straits Times Index slid 32.10 points, or 1.1%, to 3,033.81
Korea’s Kospi index fell 30.82 points, or 1.6%, to 1,948.22
Taiwan’s Taiex Index dipped 23.88 points, or 0.3%, to 7,592.01
New Zealand’s NZX index lost 19.85 points, or 0.5%, to 3,888.14
Australia’s ASX Index fell back 14.61 points, or 0.3%, to 4,490.74
