Japanese and Chinese stocks ended lower Tuesday, unable to hang on to early gains, as euro-zone problems grabbed investor attention after Moody’s downgrade of France’s AAA rating and before a decision on financial aid for Greece.
South Korean and Australian shares, however, followed gains on Wall Street amid optimism the U.S. fiscal cliff will be averted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shed 10.56 points, or 0.1%, to close Tuesday at 9,142.64
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index stepped back 33.78 points, or 0.2%, to 21,228.28
Japan’s drop came in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s decision to stand pat on its monetary policy. The move was widely expected, but analysts also forecast fresh easing moves in the coming months amid intense political pressure on the central bank.
Japan’s biggest names in the tech and auto sectors — which had fueled much of Tokyo’s recent advance — moved mostly lower during Tuesday’s morning session.
Among the major exporters losing ground, Advantest Corp fell 2.4%, Honda Motor Co. dropped 1%, and Mazda Motor Corp. retreated 1.7%.
Panasonic Corp. gave up 3.8%, also suffering from a target-price cut by Deutsche Bank.
Nintendo Co. fell 2.6% as its recently launched Wii U videogame console received mixed reviews.
Outside of the tech sector, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. dropped 1.4% after its shares hit a nine-month high Monday.
On the upside, Nippon Yusen K.K. rose 0.6%, while Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. jumped 3.6%, recovering further from a Moody’s Investors Service debt downgrade earlier in the month.
Strength in other markets came after Wall Street scored its best session in more than two months, helped by upbeat housing data and increasing confidence that a U.S. budget deal would be reached to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."
The positive sentiment spilled over into most of Asia earlier in the day, even after Moody’s cut France’s coveted triple-A debt rating by a notch before Asian markets opened.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics Co. gained 2.4%, SK Hynix Inc. rose 0.6%, and LG Display Co. jumped 4%.
Over in Sydney, miners helped lead the advance, with Rio Tinto Ltd. adding 1.4%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. climbing 4.2%, and uranium extractor Paladin Energy Ltd. leaping 9%.
In Hong Kong, banking heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC rose 0.5% in the wake of positive cues from Wall Street.
But those gains were outweighed by losses in some port operator and insurance stocks, as they let early gains slip away or accelerated losses in afternoon trading.
Shares of Cosco Pacific Ltd. fell 1.9% and Hengan International Group Co. fell 1.3%, while Ping An Insurance Group Co. added to its losses Monday, dropping 1.2% on concerns about a possible sale of a minority stake in the company by HSBC.
Diversified Citic Pacific Ltd. tumbled 4.3% on a dispute over royalty payments with a loal partner in an Australian iron ore project.
Energy shares gained across much of the region after benchmark crude-oil futures closed near $90 U.S. a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, although the futures came off those highs in electronic trading in Asia.
In Tokyo, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. rose 1.3%, and Inpex Corp. gained 0.6%.
Origin Energy Ltd. advanced 3.2% in Sydney, and Cnooc Ltd. climbed 1.3% in Hong Kong.
In Singapore, shares of Olam International Ltd. were put on a trading halt at the company’s request after broker Muddy Waters PLC questioned the agricultural-product trader’s accounting practices, leading to a slump in the company’s U.S. traded shares Monday.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index lost 10.10 points, or 0.5%, to 2,164.88
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index eked up 7.89 points, or 0.3%, to 2,958.82
Korea’s Kospi index gained 12.08 points, or 0.6%, to 1,890.18
Taiwan’s Taiex Index grew 16.73 points, or 0.2%, to 7,145.77
New Zealand’s NZX 50 recovered 30.37 points, or 0.8%, to 3,972.97
Australia’s ASX Index added 24.23 points, or 0.6%, to 4,336.85
