Asian markets ended lower Monday as risk-averse investors sold down banking and metals stocks after hefty losses on Wall Street Friday, with Bank of China shares declining on the lender's share-sale plans to raise capital.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index lost 77.86 points, or 0.7%, to 10,512.86
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost another 127.63 points, or 0.6%, to 20,598.55, ending lower for the ninth time in 10 sessions.
The region-wide losses came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its biggest one-day drop since Oct. 30 on Friday, adding to investor worries about possible U.S. bank restrictions as well as monetary tightening in China.
Shares of Bank of China dropped 2.1% in Hong Kong and 0.5% in Shanghai after the lender announced plans for a 40 billion yuan ($5.87-billion U.S.) convertible bond sale. The bank is also seeking approval from shareholders for a mandate to sell up to 20% of its existing shares.
Several financials also dropped on the weakness in U.S. banks, while commodity shares lost ground on recent declines in base metal prices and also as crude-oil futures stayed below $75-U.S.-a-barrel level. March crude-oil futures were down 5 cents at $74.49 U.S. a barrel, while spot gold was at $1,098.30 U.S. per troy ounce, up $6.80 from New York's closing level.
In Hong Kong, market heavyweight HSBC Holdings lost 1.6%, Cnooc dropped 1% and Aluminum Corp. of China shed 2%, while PetroChina dropped 1% and Baoshan Iron & Steel declined 2.3% in Shanghai.
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. lost 1% and Pacific Metals fell 2.7% in Tokyo, BHP Billiton declined 1.1% and Woodside Petroleum shrank 0.8% in Sydney
Macquarie Atlas Roads advanced on its debut, ending at 61 Australian cents from its initial public offering price of 51 Australian cents, after being spun off from Macquarie Infrastructure Group.
In Seoul, electronics and auto shares were higher thanks to the won's recent weakness. Hyundai Motor rose 1.4% and Samsung Electronics gained 2.1%.
In Tokyo, some exporters gained on the yen's weakness against major currencies, with Elpida Memory rising 1.8% and Nintendo Co. rising 0.6%, with Sony Corp. rising 0.2%.
Elsewhere in the region, New Zealand's NZX slipped 0.1% and Philippine stocks dropped 1.8%, while Indonesia's JSX lost 0.6% and Thailand's SET Index shed 0.6% in afternoon trading.
In Tokyo, investors in foreign exchange markets were keeping a close eye on the Bank of Japan's two-day policy board meeting starting Monday and Governor Masaaki Shirakawa's press conference Tuesday to gauge the possibility of further policy tightening down the road.
CHINA
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index let go of 38.18 points, or 1.1%, to 3,328.01.
Chinese banks listed in Shanghai were also lower on concerns more banks might announce plans for fundraising, following the Bank of China bond-sale news. China Construction Bank Corp.was 1.8% lower, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1%.
Elsewhere:
Korea’s Kospi Index was 14.15 points, or 0.8%, lower to 1,670.20
Taiwan’s Taiex index dropped 54.32 points, or 0.7%, to 7,872.99
Singapore’s Straits Times index subtracted eight points, or 0.3%, to 2,811.71
New Zealand’s NZX Index retreated 1.77 points to 3,188.66
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 32.70 points, or 0.7%, to 4,717.90
