Asian stock markets fell on Thursday, with a drop in Toyota Motor Corp. shares prompting selling in Tokyo, while bank shares weighed on the Australian market.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 108.87 points, or 0.8%, to 14,228.44, despite a flat currency — the yen was at ¥98.64 to the dollar late in Asia — as another earnings disappointment from the automobile sector weighed on the market.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plummeted 155.91 points, or 0.7%, to 22,881.93
Toyota Motor Corp. lost 1.3% after the car maker reported a net profit of ¥438.43 billion ($4.45 billion U.S.) in the quarter ended September, compared with ¥257.92 billion a year earlier. The firm was helped by a weaker yen, but the net profit came out slightly lower than forecast.
The Toyota results came just days after Nissan Motor Co. plunged 10% Tuesday after it cut its net profit forecast, while Honda Motor Co.’s results in the prior week also failed to meet expectations.
Also in Tokyo, Sumitomo Realty & Development fell 0.4% after the real-estate firm said its operating profit for the fiscal half year increased 21% on-year, partly due to strong sales of condominiums.
Australia’s index gave way, with sharp falls in some banking stocks weighing down the market as they went ex-dividend.
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank fell 4.2% and 3.4%, respectively, after the lenders began trading without rights to the latest dividend.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, however, rose 1.7% after J.P. Morgan raised its rating on the bank to buy.
The Australian dollar dropped to 94.87 U.S. cents after data showed the number of people employed rose just 1,100 in October, compared with an expected 7,500 rise. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.7%.
More broadly, regional markets dropped as investors remained cautious ahead of the major risk events that are scheduled to occur at the end of the week.
In Hong Kong, Lenovo Group rose 2.1% after the personal computer maker beat expectations by posting a 36% increase in its quarterly net profit at a time that most PC firms are struggling.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index fell 13.02 points, or 0.6%, to 2,340.55
Over the weekend, China will start a major political meeting — the so-called Third Plenum — where the country’s new leadership is expected to unveil a blueprint for economic policy for the next decade.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index lost 9.63 points, or 0.5%, to 2,004.04
Taiwan’s Taiex Index nicked up 1.74 points to 8,283.71
The Singapore Straits Times Index let go of 3.19 points, or 0.1%, to 3,202.10
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 21.88 points, or 0.4%, to 4,922.69
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 11.77 points, or 0.2%, to 5,422.04
