Most Asian markets ended down after a choppy session Tuesday, with Hong Kong stocks dragged lower by concern that the government may act to cool property prices, while Indian shares were hit by poor corporate-earnings reports.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index collapsed 380.13 points, or 1.8%, to 21,240.06.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3.50%, although the central bank hinted at a pause in December.
Shares of Cheung Kong Holdings dropped 1.9% and Sino Land Co. fell 4.1%. However, shares of diversified Swire Pacific climbed 1.1% on news it was considering a listing for its property business.
Sentiment toward Chinese lenders in Hong Kong was also damped after the China Banking Regulatory Commission's chairman asked banks to keep their lending at a reasonable level in the fourth quarter, according to reports. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.8% and Bank of China lost 2.7%.
Gold stocks were particularly strong across the region on the yellow metal's strong gains during the session, after the International Monetary Fund said it had sold 200 metric tons of gold to India's central bank.
Spot gold, which had climbed as high as $1,067.50 U.S. a troy ounce during the session, was up $1.70 from the New York close of $1,061.30 U.S. a troy ounce.
Newcrest Mining rose 3.9% and Lihir Gold advanced 4.3% in Sydney, while Zijin Mining Group Co. gained 1.4% and Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. / added 1.5% in Hong Kong, despite the broad-market weakness.
Australian shares were thinly traded as many traders were away for the Melbourne Cup horse race.
Financial stocks led the fall in Seoul in line with the broad regional trend, offsetting gains in automobile and technology exporters after the gains on Wall Street. Shinhan Financial Group lost 2.3% and KB Financial Group shed 2.2%, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.5% and Hyundai Motor climbing 2.9%.
In Wellington, much of the interest in the market centred on utilities investor Infratil. The company said it was in a consortium with NZ Superannuation Fund, which was in exclusive talks to buy some, or the bulk, of Shell New Zealand's downstream assets. Infratil ended down 3.6%.
Japanese markets had the day off for a national holiday.
CHINA
Chinese stocks again defied the weakness in regional markets as resource stocks extended gains on higher commodity prices and brokerages gained on hopes of a strong demand for China Merchants Securities' initial public offering.
The Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index gained another 42.62 points, or 1.3%, to 3,435.42.
In Shanghai, brokerages were up with Citic Securities climbing 1.7% and Haitong Securities gaining 1.9%. Funds flowed into the sector on hopes of a strong initial public offering debut by China Merchants Securities, which kicked off a road show for its IPO on Tuesday.
Resource stocks were also generally higher after gold and crude-oil prices rose overnight. Shandong Gold-Mining Co. rose 2.8% and PetroChina Co. gained 0.8%.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan’s Taiex index fell back 12.25 points, or 0.2%, to 7,322.93
Singapore’s Straits Times index was down 23.88 points, or 0.6%, to 2,621.55
Korea’s Kospi index retreated 9.17 points, to 0.6%, to 1,549.92
New Zealand’s NZX Index finished 24.74 points, or 0.8%, lower to 3,183.74
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 8.90 points to 4,531.40
