Asian markets fell Friday, with the Japanese yen's strength against major currencies weighing down shares of its exporters and as Chinese stocks were hurt by Beijing's move to curb property speculation.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 erased 171.61 points, or 1.5%, to 11,102.18
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index collapsed 292.56 points, or 1.3%, to 21,856.26.
Technology shares around the region were dragged lower by U.S. after-hours losses in Google's and Advanced Micro Devices' shares on Wall Street, although both companies reported better-than-expected results.
Among regional tech plays, Elpida Memory shrank 2.6% in Tokyo, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.8% in Seoul, while heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.lost 2.2% and Inotera Memories sank 3% in Taipei.
The fall came after Google's shares fell 4.9% despite reporting a 37% rise in first-quarter profit. AMD dropped 4.8% on its weak guidance as well as profit-taking in the wake of a run-up after sterling Intel results.
The yen's strength also added to the selling pressure on other exporters in the Tokyo market, sending Sony Corp. down 1.8% while Nintendo Co. fell 1.4%.
Hong Kong-listed Foxconn International dropped 4.7% after the contract handset maker said Thursday its net profit fell 68% to $38.59 million U.S. in 2009, coming in well below expectations.
Profit-taking accelerated in South Korean shares after a military official said an external explosion appears to have caused the sinking of a South Korean ship near a disputed border with North Korea.
Materials and energy stocks around the region sagged after their U.S. peers underperformed Thursday. In Sydney, BHP Billiton came off 0.8% and Rio Tinto dropped 0.5%, with Woodside Petroleum losing 1.6%.
Shares of Macarthur Coal soared 8.3% on strong volume after the company said it will start talks with suitor Peabody Energy after two of Macarthur's major shareholders said its 4.07 billion Australian dollar ($3.7 billion U.S.) offer is worth considering. Peabody Thursday raised its takeover offer for the company in the fierce takeover battle for the world's biggest exporter of pulverized coal.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro was weighed by continued worries about Greek fiscal problems and growing doubts that Greece can continue raising money on the financial markets. The euro was at $1.3541 U.S. from $1.3577 U.S. in late New York trade Thursday and at 125.41 yen from 126.31 yen. The dollar was at 92.60 yen from 93.04 yen.
CHINA
Chinese property stocks dropped after the government on Thursday introduced tougher measures, including raising the down payment for second-home buyers to a minimum of 50% from the previous 40%, to curb property speculation and rein in prices.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index dumped 38.24 points, or 1.1%, to 3,356.33
Shares of China Vanke Co. slid 0.8% and Beijing Huaye Realestate lost 2.2% on the mainland bourses, while China Overseas Land & Investment shed 4.8% and Shimao Property Holdings skidded 4.7% in Hong Kong.
China banks also fell as the measures are expected to cool mortgage loan growth. Bank of China shed 4% and China Construction Bank contracted 2.7% in Hong Kong; their Shanghai-listed shares dropped 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
Meanwhile, China's first stock-index futures made their debut Friday, climbing sharply as trading began on a bright long-term economic outlook and initial enthusiasm about the new derivatives tool, before trimming some gains.
The May 2010 index-futures contract was the most actively traded and opened at 3,450.0, up 1.5% from 3,399.0, the base price the China Financial Futures Exchange set for all four contracts making their debut. The May contract finished up 0.5% at 3,415.6.
Shares of Aluminum Corp. of China dropped 2.8% in Shanghai and 4.5% in Hong Kong after the aluminum producer said the China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved its plan to sell no more than one billion Shanghai-listed A-shares via a private placement.
Elsewhere;
Korea’s Kospi index moved down 9.42 points, or 0.5%, to 1,734.49
Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 9.75 points, or 0.3%, to 3,007.19
Taiwan’s Taiex index slid 60.37 points or 0.7% to 8,111.57
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index subsided 9.81 points, or 0.3%, to 3,311.31
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 skidded 17.20 points, or 0.3%, to 4,984.70
