Asian stocks put in a mixed performance Wednesday, with markets across the region setting new intraday records before tumbling into the red, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 tilted higher as brokerage stocks such as Nomura Holdings offset weakness among automotive shares such as Toyota Motor Corp.
The Nikkei gained 0.9 percent to 17,199.89 while the wider Topix index climbed 11.5 percent to 1,664.01.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng weaved between losses and gains in volatile trading, setting an intraday record before succumbing to heavy profit taking. The benchmark closed 2.6 percent lower at 27,479.94 after trading in a 1,626-point range, its first decline in four sessions.
Turnover surged to a record HK$209.81 billion ($27.04 billion), easily eclipsing the previous record of HK$163.13 billion set Tuesday.
The China Enterprises index, a measure of 43 mainly state-owned companies trading in Hong Kong, hit a record before tumbling 656 points, or 3.7 percent, to end at 17,317.53.
Many of the shares favored in the recent rally were hit by sharp declines. Shares of telecom China Mobile reversed earlier gains to end 4.1 percent lower, while insurer China Life Insurance fell 3.9 perecent and ThinkPad laptop maker Lenovo Group shed 4.3 percent.
Gainers included HSBC Holdings, which has lagged the recently rally. Shares of HSBC ended 2.6 percent higher.
In Tokyo, shares of Nikko Cordial Corp. jumped 13.7 percent after U.S.-based Citigroup said Tuesday it will buy out minority shareholders in deal worth 530 billion yen ($4.6 billion). Other banking and financial issues were also in focus. Shares of Nomura Holdings gained 4 percent and Resona Holdings rose 8 percent.
ELSEWHERE:
JAKARTA: Indonesia's JSX Composite lurched from a record to end in the red. The index closed 0.5 percent lower at 2,451.586.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's KLSE Composite fell 0.1 percent.
MUMBAI: India's Sensex index added 3 percent to end at a record 17,953.07.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times index set a record then tumbled to 3,754.62, losing 0.1 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price Index added 0.8 percent.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose to a record before ending unchanged on the day, as gains in financial shares such as Macquarie Bank offset a weaker performance in the commodity sector. Australia's share benchmark nudged ended flat at 6,659.9.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.1 percent.
with files from other wire services
