Chinese and Hong Kong stocks declined to lead many Asian markets lower Thursday on caution that official data to be released Friday could show consumer prices accelerated in March, forcing Beijing to tighten its monetary policy further.
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 12.74 points, or 0.1%, to 9,653.32
In Tokyo, Isuzu Motors Ltd. jumped 6.2% on a report from Germany’s Manager Magazin of possible takeover by Volkswagen AG.
Shares of Toshiba Corp. rose 2% after President Norio Sasaki reportedly said the company’s net profit for the year ended March 31 might be above the its January forecast.
Shares of Elpida Memory Inc. surged 5% after Deutsche Bank raised the stock to buy from hold, citing cost cuts and likely strong demand for chips used in mobile handsets.
Sanrio Co., the creator of Hello Kitty brand goods, rose 10.9% after its fiscal 2010 net profit beat forecasts.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. shares slipped 0.4% amid lingering worries over the company’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sifted off 121.03 points, or 0.5%, to 24, 014.
In Hong Kong, China Resources Land Ltd. slipped 0.3%. Several Hong Kong-based property stocks also fell on concerns rising supply and likely tighter liquidity conditions might hurt developers. Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. gave up 0.6% and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. fell 0.4%.
In Sydney, Leighton Holdings Ltd. slumped 13.9% to 24.93 Australian dollars ($26.20 U.S.) after the company completed the A$514-million institutional component of its A$757-million entitlement offer.
Shares of Rio Tinto Ltd. fell 0.7% after the mining giant reported weak first-quarter production results after market hours Wednesday.
In foreign-exchange markets, the Singapore dollar briefly rallied to a record high against its U.S. counterpart after the Monetary Authority of Singapore raised its Singapore dollar trading band, but left the width and slope of the band unchanged.
The U.S. dollar fell to a low of S$1.2453, from S$1.2535 just before the MAS decision, but has since recovered a little to trade at S$1.2488, as traders viewed the tightening as less aggressive than expected.
The euro was at $1.4466 from $1.4443 U.S. late Wednesday in New York, and at 120.41 yen from ¥121.03. The dollar was fetching ¥83.22, compared with ¥83.82.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index fell 18.47 points or 0.6%, to 3,353.56
China is to release a slew of data Friday, including March consumer price index-based inflation, which many economists expect to rise around 5.2% from the year-earlier month, accelerating from the 4.9% reading in the previous two months.
Fears that Beijing might introduce more restrictive policies to cool inflation persisted after China’s State Council said Wednesday it will take all required measures to maintain price stability, and that it won’t relax controls on the property sector.
Property stocks were among the losers on mainland Chinese bourses, with China Vanke Co. losing 1.5% in Shenzhen, while in Shanghai, Poly Real Estate Group Co. and Gemdale Corp. dropped 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
Ranking among the gainers on mainland bourses, Shenzhen Development Bank Co. rose 0.8% after saying that it expects first-quarter net profit to rise 50% to 60% from a year earlier.
Earlier in the day, Moody’s Investors Service also cut its outlook on the Chinese property sector to negative from stable, citing a tough operating environment for developers due to policy tightening, rising interest rates, reduced bank lending and increased supply.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index added 19.14 points, or 0.9%, to 2,141.06
Taiwan’s Taiex Index tacked on 22.53 points, or 0.3%, to 8,802.73
Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 13.16 points, or 0.4%, to 3,158.92
New Zealand’s NZX 50 dropped 3.15 points, or 0.2%, to 3,457.63
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 let go of 26.80 points, or 0.6%, to 4,884.20
