Asian markets ended mixed Monday, with Chinese stocks dragged lower by worries of economic slowdown, while Japanese consumer finance firms were buoyed by hopes for relaxed lending laws.
A pair of takeovers in Australia failed to keep the broader market in positive territory.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 average gained 63.07 points, or 0.7%, to conclude the week’s first session at 9,266.78
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, however, tumbled another 63.12 points, or 0.3%, to 19,842.20
Trading volumes were weak in several markets as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Monday.
Friday's losses on Wall Street and slightly weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data damped sentiment and capped gains even in shares that advanced.
Mergers and acquisitions were the theme of the day in Sydney, with Thailand's Banpu launching a takeover of Centennial Coal, whose shares surged 31.9% to 5.83 Australian dollars ($4.90 U.S.) after it recommended that shareholders accept the offer valuing Centennial at A$2.45 billion.
Banpu, which already holds a 19.9% stake in the Sydney-based miner, is offering A$6.20 cash per share. Banpu was up 2.3% in Bangkok trading.
Other coal shares also jumped on hopes for more consolidation in the industry, with Whitehaven Coal climbing 5.1% and MacArthur Coal rising 5.2%, though diversified miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slipped 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.
CSR Ltd. gained 3.5% after it agreed to sell Sucrogen, its sugar and renewable energies business, to Wilmar International for A$1.75 billion.
Shares of Japanese consumer lenders surged on a report in the Mainichi Shimbun Sunday that the Osaka Prefecture is finalizing a proposal to ask the central government to relax money lending laws to allow consumer lenders to apply higher interest rates in some cases. Takefuji soared 17.8% and Aiful Corp. spiked 23.9%.
Bargain-hunting in exporters also supported the market. Sharp Corp. rose 3.1% while Casio Computer Co. surged 4.1% after a share buyback announcement.
The Nikkei's gains were limited by Fast Retailing, which lost 1.8% after reporting a 5.8% fall in June domestic same-store sales at its Uniqlo shops.
In Seoul, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding surged 9.1% after the Korea Economic Daily reported on its website that STX Group planned to list its European unit on the Singapore stock exchange in October to raise 600 billion Korean won to 700 billion Korean won ($490 million to $572 million U.S.) An STX Group spokesman declined to comment on the report.
In foreign exchange markets, major pairs were in tight ranges with traders on the sideline ahead of the U.S. holiday. The euro was at $1.2539, compared with $1.2543 in late New York trade Friday, and at 110.12 yen from 109.96 yen. The dollar was at 87.80 yen from 87.70 yen.
CHINA
Chinese shares continued to be weighed by economic growth concerns.
Bank of China fell 0.9% and Aluminum Corp. of China dropped 1.9% in Shanghai, while Yunnan Copper declined 2% in Shenzhen. Bank of China lost 1.3% while China Resources Land gave up 2.5% in Hong Kong.
"I don't think Bank of China's unexpected rights issue last Friday is the main culprit for today's weakness; it has more to do with the lack of investor confidence in the economy," said Amy Lin from Capital Securities.
Elsewhere;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index tailed off 21.45 points, or 0.9%, to 2,512.65
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.17 points to 2,844.02
Korea’s Kospi index inched ahead 3.55 points, or 0.2%, to 1,675.37
Taiwan’s Taiex Index leaped 109.22 points, or 1.5%, to 7,439.96
New Zealand’s NZX index added 9.24 points, or 0.3%, to 2,947.34
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 took off 16.60 points, or 0.4%, to 4,222.10
