Asian markets suffered steep losses Friday, with National Australia Bank stock plummeting in Sydney after the lender said it will provide more for exposure related to U.S. mortgages, while Mizuho Financial Group shares shrank mirroring an overnight sell-off on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index lost 268.55 points or 1.97% to close at 13,334.76, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 347 points or 1.50% to close at 22741.
In economic news, Japan's June Corporate Service Price Index increased 1.2% from the same period last year, according to a report from the Bank of Japan. The central bank's index rose to a reading of 95.5, the 23rd straight month of on-year increases. In May, the index rose 0.5% on year. The index measures prices paid by companies for transportation, advertising and communications services provided by other companies.
Annual inflation in Japan increased 2.0% in June, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The government's core index, which removes volatile fresh food prices, rose 1.9%, its ninth straight monthly rise. The core figure was the largest increase in more than a decade. Excluding both fresh food and energy prices, Japan's CPI rose just 0.1% on year in June.
Banks lost ground after their U.S. counterparts tumbled on Thursday on the back of weak housing data. Mizuho Financial slumped 8.15%, Sumitomo Mitsui fell 5.83%, Mitsubishi UFJ dipped 5.43%, Resona Holdings lost 5.14% and Shinsei Bank shed 7.16%.
Automakers also closed lower on worries about the U.S. economy after Ford Motor Co. reported a $8.7 billion loss for the second quarter on Thursday. Honda Motor slipped 2.08%, Toyota lost 3.52%, Suzuki dropped 3.38%, Mitsubishi Motors gave away 2.14% and Nissan declined 2.14%.
Tech stocks lost ground. Advantest slid 3.75% after it reported a net loss for the first quarter. NEC declined 1.68%, Fujitsu slipped 2.37% and Tokyo Electron shed 3.00%. Fanuc plummeted 7.15% after brokerage UBS warned that the company's profit may fall in the second quarter.
Elsewhere:
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index stumbled 3.4% to 4,970.50, with National Australia Bank tumbling 13.5% after the lender jolted investors by saying it will make a provision of A$830 million ($805 million) on its exposure of A$1.2 billion to securities linked to U.S. mortgage assets.
China's Shanghai Composite lost 1.6% to 2,865.10.
South Korea's Kospi lost 1.7% to 1,597.93.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 1% to 3,254.16.
Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 1.8% to 2,923.66.
Taiwan's Taiex shed 1.8% to 7,233.62.
with files from other wire services
