Asian stocks struggled for direction Friday, as optimism over the European Central Bank’s decision to continue providing short-term liquidity to banks was countered by caution ahead of U.S. payrolls data due later in the day.
The Nikkei 225 Index improved 9.80 points, or 0.1%, to 10,178.30
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index settled back 128.26 points, or 0.6%, to 23,320.50
In Japan, the market trimmed morning gains as some investors took profits following the Nikkei’s more than 10% rally since early November.
Shares of Olympus Corp. climbed 1.4% and Nikon Corp. rose 1%. Fast Retailing bucked the market, falling 3%, after domestic same-store sales at its Uniqlo casual-clothing chain slumped 14.5% in November from a year earlier, falling for the fourth consecutive month.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 0.6% and Rio Tinto PLC climbed 1.7%. Building-materials company James Hardie Industries which has a significant exposure to the U.S. market, jumped 6.2% in the wake of strong U.S. housing data on Thursday.
In Seoul, index heavyweight Samsung Electronics surged 4.1% on a bullish tech industry outlook and expectations management changes in the company will spur earnings. The tech giant promoted the chairman’s only son, Jay Y. Lee, to president, while Chief Executive Officer Choi Gee-sung was given the vice-chairman post.
Samsung also said it had established a group strategic planning office to take charge of developing new businesses.
Shares of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Hyundai Group affiliates fell sharply after Hyundai Group said it had submitted documentation for a 1.2-trillion-won ($1.04-billion U.S.) loan for financing the $5-billion U.S. acquisition of a controlling stake in Hyundai Engineering.
Hyundai Engineering shares fell 2.7%, Hyundai Merchant Marine dropped 2.8% and Hyundai Securities declined 2.3%.
Shares of Sands China lost 1.3% in Hong Kong after saying the Macau government had rejected its application for concession rights to two plots of land.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro was fetching $1.3234 U.S. from $1.3225 U.S. late Thursday in New York, and 110.55 yen from ¥110.95. The dollar was at ¥83.74, compared with ¥83.86.
CHINA
In Shanghai, lingering concerns about further tightening from Beijing weighed, while profit-taking hit gold miners.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index gained 3.10 points, or 0.1%, to 3,158.16.
Coal miners extended losses after Beijing on Thursday ordered a freeze on contract coal prices next year as part of efforts to contain inflation. China’s independent power producers, which had rallied Thursday on the news, gave up some of those gains on worries Beijing may also cap electricity tariffs.
Among the coal producers, China Shenhua Energy dropped 3% and China Coal Energy Co. gave up 2.7% in Hong Kong, while dropping 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, in Shanghai.
Meanwhile, Datang International Power Generation dropped 1.3%, Huadian Power International Corp. lost 1.8% and Huaneng Power International shed 1.6% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, Datang lost 1.5% and Huadian Power gave up 1.3%, while Huaneng Power gained 0.3%.
In other markets
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 25.52 points, or 0.8%, to 3,172.44
Korea’s Kospi Index added seven points, or 0.4%, to 1,957.26
Taiwan’s Taiex Index improved 38.24 points, or 0.5%, to 8,624.01
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 2.19 points to 3,283.30
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index moved up 18 points, or 0.4%, to 4,694.20
