Most Asian markets fell Friday after another selloff on Wall Street amid worries the Federal Reserve would cut its stimulus, with mainland Chinese stocks finishing lower after witnessing a dramatic surge earlier in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 102.83 points, or 0.8%, to 13,650.11
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index docked 21.44 points, or 0.1%, to 22,517.81
Shares of several firms that have a significant international exposure fell across the region.
In Tokyo, Yamaha Motor Co. dropped 1.8%, Sharp Corp. fell 1.9%, and construction-equipment maker Komatsu Ltd shed 2.4%.
Samsung Electronics Co. lost 0.4%, and LG Electronics Co. gave up 1.9% in Seoul, while in Sydney, sportswear firm Billabong International Ltd. finished 3.6% lower.
Also losing ground in Sydney, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group fell 3% after the bank said margins in its Asian business were likely to fail in the second half of the fiscal year through September, due to lower interest rates.
However, gold miners advanced after precious-metal futures jumped overnight in the U.S.
Newcrest Mining Ltd. rose 4%, and Perseus Mining Ltd. soared 20% in Sydney, while Zijin Mining Group Co. rose 1.7% in Hong Kong, and Zhongjin Gold Corp. added 1.3% in Shanghai.
Several energy shares also outperformed after crude-oil prices climbed in the U.S., with Inpex Corp. adding 1.3%, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. rising 2.6% in Tokyo.
Santos Ltd. advanced 3.8% in Sydney after posting a 3% increase in its January-June net profit.
New Zealand stocks fell, meanwhile, following reports that a powerful earthquake had rocked the country. The NZX 50 dropped 0.4% as trading resumed after a temporary halt.
The Shanghai Composite ended the week 0.8% higher despite Friday’s losses, while the Hang Seng Index was among the region’s best weekly performers with a 3.3% gain. Also posting weekly gains, South Korea’s Kospi added 2.1%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.2% and the Nikkei Stock Average edged 0.3% higher.
CHINA
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 subtracted 17.44 points, or 0.8%, to 2,304.14, after an extremely volatile session, during which it swung to a 5.6% jump from a 1% loss earlier in the day, before sliding back into losses.
Multiple traders and media accounts cited an unintended "fat finger" execution of a seven-billion yuan ($1.13 billion U.S.) order at a local brokerage as the cause for the sudden spike in Shanghai stocks.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange Friday afternoon confirmed that the investment strategy department at Everbright Securities Co. had encountered a problem in its arbitrage system, according to a Xinhua news report.
The surge in the Shanghai index had coincided with a flare-up in shares of several companies, including the two largest stocks on the bourse by capitalization — PetroChina Co. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. Both stocks briefly rose around 10%, before also giving up those gains.
The Shanghai-listed shares of PetroChina inched 0.1% higher, while those of ICBC ended unchanged from Thursday’s closing level.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index returned from a day off to slid 3.80 points, or 0.2%, to 1,920.11
Taiwan’s Taiex Index bucked the trend and gained 37.34 points, or 0.5%, to 7,925
The Singapore Straits Times was down 23.39 points, or 0.7%, to 3,197.53
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index stumbled 16.38 points, or 0.4%, to 4,513.88
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 erased 38.51 points, or 0.8%, to 5,113.86
