Asian stock indexes ended generally lower Wednesday, with falling commodity prices dragging on resource shares.
The Nikkei 225 index gave back 17.33 points, or 0.2%, to 10,380.80
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index continued its streak, gaining another 89.43 points, or 1%, to 23,757.80.
Australian stocks had their second straight down session, weighed by concerns over the financial impact of devastating floods.
The flooding in Australia’s coal-rich Queensland state hit mining shares, with BHP Billiton Ltd. down 1%, Rio Tinto PLC down 0.9% and Fortescue Metals Group down 0.8%.
Insurance companies, however, recovered some ground after recent declines.
Australia Group clawed back 1.6% and QBE Insurance Group regained 0.5%.
GrainCorp, which dropped sharply late last year on worries over rain-delayed harvests, gained 3.9% after it said Tuesday that grain received into its network rose more than 50% from Dec. 20 to 10.7 million metric tons.
In Japan, smartphone-related stocks dominated otherwise lackluster market action.
Sharp Corporation ended up 3% following a Nikkei report that idled LCD production lines at two factories had resumed operations.
Renesas Electronics added 11% after Nikkei reports that the company has developed a chip that will allow 16-megapixel images on smartphone cameras for the first time.
Yahoo Japan lost 4.7% as Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a sell rating, saying smartphones and social-media sites such as Facebook could put pressure on the company by diverting traffic away from portal sites.
In South Korea, the main index briefly rose to a record before easing on profit taking pressure in technology and financial sector stocks that had gained sharply in recent sessions.
Samsung Electronics was down 1.7% and KB Financial Group fell 2.3%.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction rose 6.7% following a court ruling late Tuesday allowing its creditors to start talking with Hyundai Motor Group about a selling stake in the builder.
Analysts said that despite sharp gains since December, they see room for the market to rise further thanks to ample liquidity in the global financial system and hopes that the global economic recovery is gaining momentum.
In Hong Kong, local property firms helped drive some gains, with Sun Hung Kai Properties up 1.9% and Cheung Kong up 1.1%. Citigroup said it expects office rentals in the territory to rise 15% to 20% in 2011 and to continue rising in 2012, thanks to a low level of new supply and continued recovery in the Hong Kong economy.
Also higher in Hong Kong was HSBC Holdings PLC up 2.4%.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro was a little weaker against the U.S. dollar on mild profit taking, with volumes light as traders awaited cues from the U.S. ADP employment report later in the day.
The euro was at $1.3271 U.S., from $1.3308 U.S. in late New York trade Tuesday, and at 108.92 yen, from ¥109.17.
CHINA
In China, property developers fell -- driven, analysts said, by concerns about monetary tightening.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index dipped 14.02 points, or 0.4%, to 3,175.66
Shanghai Industrial Development ended down 1.2% and Beijing Urban Construction Investment & Development dropped 1.1%. On Tuesday they gained 3.1% and 8.4%, respectively.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index inched back 2.59 points, or 0.1%, to 2,082.55
Taiwan’s Taiex Index tumbled 150.88 points, or 1.7%, to 8,946.31
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 3.96 points, or 0.1%, to 3,254.55
New Zealand’s NZX 50 gained 15.96 points, or 0.5%, on the first day of trading in 2011, to
3,324.99.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index stumbled 27.60 points, or 0.6%, to 4,714.90
