Asian markets ended on a mixed note Tuesday, with shares in Tokyo slipping after a roller-coaster ride in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision, while South Korean stocks advanced amid gains for the yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index deducted 37.81 points, or 0.4%, to 10,709.93
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 68.08 points, or 0.3%, to 23,658.99
Local stocks jumped immediately after the Bank of Japan said it would adopt a firm inflation target of 2% and pursue "open-ended" asset purchases from 2014. But the market let those gains slip away as the central bank didn’t set a deadline for the inflation target, nor announce any additional monetary stimulus for 2013.
In Tokyo, the yen overcame initial weakness in the wake of Bank of Japan’s decision to rebound against major currencies, sending local stocks lower. Among exporters, Komatsu Ltd. fell 1.2% and Toyota Motor Corp. retreated 0.9%.
Olympus Corp. jumped 6.6% after its shares were taken off a Tokyo Stock Exchange list for a possible delisting.
Kirin Holdings Co. rose 3.2% following reports that a Thai billionaire had increased his offer to buy Singapore-listed Fraser & Neave Ltd.
Kirin, along with a group led by property firm Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd., had previously made an offer to buy Fraser & Neave.
In Singapore afternoon trading, Fraser and Neave shares were down 2%, while Overseas Union stock climbed 4.4%.
Stocks rose in Seoul, meanwhile, as a firmer yen provided support to the South Korean exporters who compete with Japanese rivals in several industries. Hyundai Motor Co. rose 1.9%, Kia Motors Corp. added 1.7% and Samsung Electronics Co. advanced 1.8%.
Korea Gas Corp. tumbled 6.8% on reports the firm had scrapped a fund-raising plan.
In Sydney, MacMahon Holdings Ltd. jumped 5.9% after signing its largest-ever mining deal, a $1.9-billion U.S. contract to expand a Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. mine. Shares of Fortescue rose 2.4%.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 slipped 14 points, or 0.5%, to 2,596.90, on profit-taking after recent advances.
Property-sector losses weighed on mainland Chinese stocks, with Gemdale Corp. losing 1.3% and Poly Real Estate Group Co. falling 2.1%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index shed 1.46 points to 3,219.86
Korea’s Kospi Index moved ahead 9.66 points, or 0.5%, to 1,996.52
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added 34.18 points, or 0.4%, to 7,759.10
The NZX 50 gained 1.9 points to 4,187.08
Australia’s ASX Index gained 1.58 points to 4,779.08
