Asian stock markets ended mostly lower Monday, tracking Wall Street's weak showing on Friday, with Japanese exporters hit hard by the yen's continued strength against the U.S. dollar.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 plunged 256.46 points, or 2.5%, to end Monday’s session at 10,009.52, after briefly slipping below the psychologically-important 10,000-point level during the session for the first time since July.
Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii told reporters earlier on Monday that the yen's recent strengthening trend was "not abnormal." He added that it was a mistake to use "foreign exchange dumping" to defend industry.
"The dollar's drop below 90 yen [on Friday] was not surprising, but the market now fears that [dollar-yen] may fall below its 2009 low" of 87.10 yen, said Tachibana Securities analyst Kenichi Hirano. Among exporters, Honda Motor fell 5%, Toyota Motor lost 3.8% and Sharp shed 4.1%
The market was pricing in the risk of weaker-than-expected earnings due to the stronger yen, said Phoenix Securities manager Mamoru Nakajo. "Earnings at Japanese companies will be bad, with exports hurt by the yen's strength and domestic businesses also struggling amid deflation."
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 435.99 points, or 2.1%, to 20,588.41.
Adding to the selling pressure in Tokyo, financials also dropped sharply on continued concerns over dilutive equity financing. Nomura Holdings shrank 5.8% in heavy volume, extending its sharp losses Friday after announcing a new share issue. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group dropped 4.3%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 1.8% and Mizuho Financial Group lost 2.3%.
Resource stocks fell across the region on weakness in commodity prices, with gold miners falling especially hard as the metal extended its fall below $1,000 U.S. a troy ounce. Spot gold was recently down $3 at $987.70 U.S., while November crude-oil prices gave up 56 cents to $65.46 U.S. a barrel on Globex.
Newcrest Mining declined 1.2% in Sydney, with PetroChina falling 2.9% in Hong Kong and 1.8% in Shanghai. Among gold miners, Zhaojin Mining Industry lost 4.8% and Zijin Mining Group lost 3% in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, shares of China Unicom (Hong Kong) fell 5% after South Korea's SK Telecom said it will sell its 3.8% stake in Unicom back to the company for $1.28 billion U.S. to improve its financial position and expand its convergence business in China.
CHINA
Chinese stocks tumbled on concerns new listings on the Nasdaq-style Growth Enterprise Market may divert attention from the main board and sap liquidity.
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index backtracked 88.57 points, or 2.8%, to 2,972.64. Zhongjin Gold skidded 5.8% in Shanghai
Elsewhere:
South Korea’s Kospi index slid 15.93 points, or 0.9%, to 1,675.55.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell off the pace 60.61 points, or 0.8%, to 7,284.61
Singapore’s Straits Times index retreated 33.57 points, or 1.3%, to 2,629.25
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 19.92 points, or 0.6%, to 3,131.18
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 35.90 points, or 0.8%, to 4,677.40
