Asia stocks ended mostly lower Monday, with South Korean car makers and resource stocks trading in Hong Kong among the top decliners as caution reigned ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index faded 43.78 points, or 0.5%, to 9,007.44
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dipped 104.93 points, or 0.5%, to 22,006.40.
The race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is expected to be close, with the vast majority of national polls showing the gap between the two candidates within the margins of error
Car makers skidded in Seoul, with Hyundai Motor Co. dropping 7.2% and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. sliding 6.9%. The losses came after the two car makers on Friday admitted to overstating fuel economy figures for some vehicles sold in the U.S. over the last two years.
In Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corp. climbed 2.2% ahead of its earnings report due later in the day, as broadcaster NHK said the car maker would hike its full-year operating profit forecast.
Hong Kong-listed oil firms were under pressure after the selloff for commodities in New York on Friday, with Cnooc Ltd. down 0.4% and PetroChina Co. lower by 1.1%.
Gold miners also suffered. Zijin Mining Group Co. dropped 2.2% in Hong Kong, while Newcrest Mining Ltd. fell 1.6% in Sydney.
Tech shares worked to keep the broader Tokyo market negative, with Sharp Corp. dropping 6.7% after Fitch Ratings late Friday cut its rating on the firm to B- from BBB- with a negative outlook.
Sony Corp. lost 2.3% after its first-half earnings results prompted Moody’s to warn of a possible downgrade.
Electricity supplier Kansai Electric Power Co. slumped 6.8%, after the Nikkei business daily reported Japanese officials haven’t reached a decision on whether a fault found at one of the firm’s nuclear-power plants should be considered active. They reportedly plan to hold a meeting Wednesday with the firm.
Daiwa Securities Group Inc. shed 2.1% despite the broker posting a swing to profit in the first fiscal half, as its European and Asia operations continued to lose money.
Foster Electric Co. bucked the tech-sector trend to rally 15.4% in Tokyo, after the Apple Inc. supplier said Friday it expects its fiscal-year net profit to surge to 4.3 billion yen ($53.5-billion U.S.), a ¥1.3 billion upgrade from its prior forecast.
In other Apple-related moves, Hong Kong-listed shares of tech major Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. rocketed 31% higher on expectation the firm may start making iPhones.
Foxconn International’s parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. already assembles the popular handset. Shares of Hon Hai fell 1.2% in Taipei.
Sydney-listed shares also received earnings support, as Westpac Banking Corp. advanced 1.3% after unveiling a 5% increase in fiscal-year adjusted profit that exceeded analyst expectations.
Miners gained as well, with Rio Tinto Ltd. rising 2.6% and BHP Billiton Ltd. ahead by 1.2%.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index lost 4.89 points, or 0.2%, to 2,301.88
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gave back 9.06 points, or 0.3%, to 3,031.69
Korea’s Kospi index subtracted 10.50 points, or 0.6%, to 1,908.22
Taiwan’s Taiex Index erased 25.11 points, or 0.4%, to 7,185.36
Australia’s ASX Index tacked on 14.07 points, or 0.3%, to 4,474.12
Markets in New Zealand had the day off
