Most Asian equity markets ended lower Friday with an overnight drop on Wall Street and U.K. credit rating jitters dampening sentiment.
Japanese stocks declined as exporters were again hurt by the yen's strength against the U.S. dollar, while Indian stocks looked set to end the week with solid gains on hopes of a stable government.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell another 38.34 points, or 0.4%, to end the trading week at 9,264.15, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell back 136.97 points, or 0.8%, to 17,062.52.
The region's broad losses came after a warning Thursday from Standard & Poor's that it may downgrade the U.K. government's credit ratings raised concerns about U.S. credit ratings as well.
But the falls gave way to some light bargain-hunting after Thursday's declines in Asia, with liquidity remaining good.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan left its policy rate unchanged at 0.1% at the end of its two-day meeting, as expected. But it upgraded its economic assessment for the first time in nearly three years, saying exports and production were showing signs of improvement.
More positive signs were expected next week, with UBS economist Takuji Aida writing in a note that industrial production in April likely rose 3.5% over March data, marking the second-straight monthly increase.
The yen's strength against the dollar hurt shares of exporters in Tokyo and weighed on the Nikkei. Canon Inc. stock fell 1.9%, while Elpida Memory shed 1.5%.
The region's steelmakers lost ground on concerns Chinese supply of the metal could outstrip demand and keep prices in check. Nippon Steel fell 2.9% and JFE Holdings was down 2.1% in Tokyo. Posco fell 3.2% in Seoul and Angang Steel gave up 2.7% in Hong Kong.
Lenovo Group tumbled 6.4% in Hong Kong a day after the personal computer maker disappointed with its results. The company swung to a net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter because of hefty restructuring charges and weak demand.
In Taiwan, construction and real estate stocks got a boost from an Economic Daily report that Taiwan planned to let Chinese investors take out bank loans to buy houses. Farglory Land Development jumped 7%, while Cathay Real Estate Development Co. added 4.3%.
Resource stocks were broadly lower in Sydney, with BHP Billiton down 2.7% and Rio Tinto off 3.3%. But Newcrest Mining climbed 0.4% and Lihir Gold added 1.6%, helped by the recent strength in gold prices.
In currency markets the U.S. dollar was at ¥94.16 after falling as low as ¥93.86 yen earlier in the day, from ¥94.21 in New York. The euro was at ¥131.35 from ¥131.07, and at $1.3956, from $1.3910.
Analysts said the near-term risks to the U.S. dollar might remain to the downside. Standard Chartered noted the breakdown Thursday in the conventional correlation dynamics in the dollar, S&P 500, and U.S. bonds.
There were more gains for the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with the Australian dollar around $0.7804 U.S. recently.
Spot gold fell $3 from New York levels, to $950.90 U.S. a troy ounce recently. Front-month Nymex crude oil futures were 29 cents higher on Globex at $61.34 U.S. a barrel, after falling 99 cents in New York
Elsewhere:
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index slid 9.33, or 0.3%, to 2,740.68
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 34.30 points, or 1.6% to 2,245.27
South Korea’s Kospi index eased off 17.90 points, or 1.3% to 1,403.75
Taiwan’s Taiex index improved 18.48 points, or 0.3% to 6,737.29
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index moved 15.77, or 0.6%, lower, to 2,760.54.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 52.30 points, or 1.4% to 3,761.60.
