Most Asian equity markets edged lower after a choppy session Thursday, with Japanese, South Korean and Indian shares influenced by overnight weakness on Wall Street and worries about corporate earnings.
Japan's Nikkei 225 finished the day 89.29 points, or 1.1%, lower to 7,949.65.
Blue chips were lower in Tokyo with Canon down 3.2% and Honda Motor Co. sliding 0.9%, though Panasonic added 0.6% despite issuing poor third-quarter earnings and forecasting a loss for the fiscal year ending in March, as some investors took comfort at its quick cost-cutting measures.
Despite solid gains in the morning session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended up 115.01 points or 0.9% to 13,178.90.
Banking stocks led the gains in Hong Kong, with Bank of China jumping 3.9% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China gaining 3.9%.
Shares of Elpida Memory jumped 4.6% after a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires the Taiwan government was considering buying a stake in the company as a way to help consolidate Taiwan's memory-chip sector.
CHINA
Shanghai-listed stocks declined, taking a breather after a three-day rally, even as shares of Chinese banks rallied in Hong Kong on expectations that government policies may help support the mainland economy.
Shipping shares surged across the region after a jump in a key index signaled improved dry bulk shipping rates. Shipping shares showed some heft after the Baltic Dry Index gained 14.6% to 1,316 on Wednesday, helped in part by tentative signs of a recovery in Chinese demand for commodities.
In Tokyo, Nippon Yusen ended up 5.3% and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines rose 5.1%. Taiwan's U-Ming Marine and Sincere Navigation rose by their daily permitted limit of 7%; STX Pan Ocean gained 1.1% and Neptune Orient Lines surged 4.3% in Singapore afternoon trading.
In Sydney, mining stocks were lending a hand with Rio Tinto climbing 7.1% and BHP Billiton adding 6.2%, helped by stronger metal prices and some recent resilience in manufacturing data out of China.
Financials were under pressure though with National Australia Bank falling 4.2% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group down 7.1%. Suncorp-Metway was on a trading halt after it warned its interim profit could fall as much as 45% on the year and that it would slash dividends. The company also said its chief executive will resign.
Qantas Airways slumped 18.3% to A$1.87 ($1.20 U.S.) after touching a 12-year low of A$1.84, as it completed a A$500-million institutional placement.
In Seoul, Hynix Semiconductor shares ended down 1.8% after the chip maker posted a fifth-straight quarterly net loss during the October-December period and said it was revising down its 2009 capital-spending plan.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai Composite Index was off 15.44 points or 0.7%, to close at 2,150.97
Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 2.79 points or 0.2%, to close at 1,704.60
Taiwan’s Taiex Index lost 26.72 points or 0.6%, to close at 4,363.25
South Korea’s Kospi declined 17.49 points or 1.5% to 1,177.88
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 4.88 points or 0.2% to 2,773.50
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 9.3 points or 0.3% to 3,428.60
