Japanese stocks fell backwards Friday, with the export-oriented market aided in part by easing in the yen against the U.S. dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 92.53 points, or 0.6%, to 14,914.53
Standing out were shares of NEC Corp., rallying 9.3% after the company said it plans to book ¥27 billion ($262.7 million U.S.) gain in the fiscal year ending March on the sale of its Internet services operations Biglobe Ltd. to Japan Industrial Partners. Also climbing were shares of Fujitsu Ltd. up 8.2% after the company swung to a third-quarter profit of ¥12 billion
Australian stocks floundered most of the day before surfacing above breakeven before the closing bell.
The heavily weighted miners and banks put in a mixed performance, though some individual issues saw strength.
Among the top movers, shares of David Jones Ltd. rose 3.7%, after Myer Holdings Ltd. said it had approached the retailer with a merger proposal, though David Jones said it had rejected the bid as too low, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Shares of Myer were up 0.6%.
Meanwhile, weakness in prices for some commodities -- including a nearly 2% loss for Comex gold and a nearly two-month fall for copper -- sent some miners lower, with BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd down 0.7% apiece, while Evolution Mining Ltd. lost 2% and Newcrest Mining Ltd. gave up 0.6%.
However, Atlas Iron Ltd. extended recent strength with a 1.7% gain, and uranium producer Paladin Energy Ltd. improved by 2.9%. Banks saw relatively muted moves ahead of next week's Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision, with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group down 0.3% and National Australia Bank Ltd. 0.4% lower, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.2%
In other markets;
Markets in Shanghai, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore were shuttered for a holiday
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 regained 24.74 points, or 0.5%, to 4,874.58
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 nicked up 1.94 points to 5,190.
