Stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai got slapped Tuesday after several local Chinese governments imposed further restrictions on home purchases, with the central bank’s move to curb liquidity in the money markets also weighing on sentiment.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index lost 35.53 points, or 0.3%, to 11,372.34, giving back some of the gains made in the previous session, when the benchmark jumped 2.1%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tumbled 238.03 points, or 1%, to 23,143.91
Japanese shares retreated as the yen sprang higher after the nation’s finance minister denied Tokyo was considering allowing purchases of foreign bonds.
Casino operators listed in Hong Kong saw some big losses amid a weakening outlook, with Deutsche Bank analysts saying that gaming figures so far in February suggest revenue may only rise 2% year-on-year this month, falling below market expectations for a 10% year-on-year rise.
Sands China Ltd. dropped 4.4% and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. shed 4.9%. Melco shares tumbled 5.5%.
Shares of SCMP Group Ltd. , publisher of the South China Morning Post newspaper, plunged 7.4% after the firm said it was in talks for an acquisition. The stock, however, is still up more than 22% so far this year on gains recorded earlier, amid speculation the firm could be taken private by shareholder Kerry Media Ltd, controlled by Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok.
The losses in Tokyo came after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the government wasn’t considering purchasing foreign bonds, or changing the law that governs the Bank of Japan. The country’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said Monday that if the Bank of Japan fails to achieve its inflation target, then he might change the central-bank law
Currency-sensitive firms lost ground Tuesday along with the dollar, with tech firms among the decliners. Tokyo Electron Ltd. gave up 2.5%, while robotics firm Fanuc Corp. dropped 4.1%.
Renesas Electronics Corp. rose 2% in the tech sector, however, following a Nikkei news report saying the chip maker would appoint a new president as early as this month.
Earnings were providing a boost for some firms, with tire maker Bridgestone Corp. up 10.4% after more than doubling its quarterly profits and forecasting record earnings for 2013.
Earnings from Australian companies saw Mount Gibson Iron Ltd. drop 3.9% after the iron-ore extractor said that its first-half profit slumped to 37.1 million Australian dollars ($38.2 million U.S.) from $129.9 million in the year-ago period.
Beverages firm Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. rose 2% after updating investors.
APN News & Media — partly owned by Ireland’s Independent News & Media PLC — slumped 8.3% as the mass departure of the firm’s chairman, chief executive officer and three independent directors of the board took effect Tuesday morning, following a spat on raising capital.
CHINA
Chinese property developers were hit hard on news local governments in China have been moving to tighten home buyers’ access to credit.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite 300 index fell 51.87 points, or 1.9%, to 2,685.61.
Shares of Gemdale Corp. plunged 7.9% and Poly Real Estate Group Co. sank 5.1% in Shanghai and China Vanke Co. lost 4.3% in Shenzhen; in Hong Kong, shares of China Resources Land Ltd. and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. shed 4.4% and 3.3%, respectively.
In another development that weighed on investor sentiment, the People’s Bank of China on Tuesday offered 28-day repurchase agreements to drain 30 billion yuan ($4.8 billion U.S.) from the money markets, its first move to pull out liquidity from the local money markets in eight months
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index edged up 3.92 points, or 0.2%, to 1,985.83
In Taiwan, the Taiex index picked up 17.35 points, or 0.2%, to 7,960.88
The Singapore Straits Times Index inched higher 7.63 points, or 0.2%, to 3,295.77
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 index gained 29.73 points, or 0.7%, to 4,244.21
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 perked 18.48 points, or 0.4%, to 5,081.90, to end at its highest point since September 2008.
