Asian markets ended mostly lower Thursday, with stocks weighed down by concerns that Greek debt may be downgraded, while a rising yen added to the pressure on exporters in Tokyo.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo declined 96.87 points, or 1%, to 10,101.96
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong retreated 68.17 points, or 0.3%, to 20,399.57
In Tokyo, the Nikkei turned down after pushing up in early trade as dealers said that a rising yen was causing some jitters. Sony slid 2.1%, Honda Motor gave up 1.1% and Nissan Motor shed 1.7%.
Toyota Motor dropped 0.2%, but outperformed the market, after the auto maker's president, Akio Toyoda, appeared before U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, formally apologizing for the spate of defects and vowing to rebuild the car maker's tarnished reputation.
South Korean shares reversed an early rise and fell sharply on selling by foreign investors. Korea's January current account deficit, the first in 12 months -- due to higher energy imports and a wider travel-account deficit -- also weighed on sentiment.
Samsung Electronics dropped 2.1%, while Woori Finance Holdings sank 3.7%, despite news of a stake sale. State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. has named four lead managers to handle the sale of around 7% of Woori Finance via a block trade, two people familiar with the matter said earlier Thursday.
Hyundai Motor ended flat in the weak market, recovering some of its losses suffered during the previous session after the auto maker's voluntary recall of some cars in the U.S. to fix a faulty door latch.
The euro was at $1.3495 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.3525 in late New York trade Wednesday, and was sharply lower against the yen, buying 120.66 yen from 121.95 yen. The dollar also fell sharply against the yen, fetching 89.38 yen compared with 90.17 yen.
CHINA
Chinese shares were being led higher by gains for property developers and banks after the state-run China Securities Journal reported that regulators may resume approvals for equity fundraising by listed developers soon after a temporary halt.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index regained 47.64 points, or 1.5%, to 3,292.13
China Vanke climbed 2.7% in Shenzhen, while Poly Real Estate Group gained 3.1% and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank surged 5.5% in Shanghai.
Elsewhere:
Korea’s Kospi Index subtracted 25.32 points, or 1.6%, to 1,587.51
Singapore’s Straits Times Index moved 12.99 points, or 0.5%, lower to 2,749.15
Taiwan’s Taiex Index plummeted 102.71 points, or 1.4%, to 7,426.96
New Zealand’s NZX Index gained 20.80 points, or 0.7%, to 3,151.69
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 54.40 points, or 1.2%, to 4,594.10
