Asian shares ended off lows on Wednesday, while Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced, ahead of emergency talks among European Union leaders to discuss Greece’s call for a vote of confidence and a referendum on E.U. plans to stem the region’s debt crisis.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index slipped 195.10 points, or 2.2%, to finish Wednesday at 8,640.42
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 363.75 points, or 1.9%, to 19,733.70
On Tuesday, global markets fell sharply after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he had called for a referendum to be held early next year on the E.U. agreement to stem the debt crisis, which investors saw as delaying any immediate relief.
Markets regained some ground as emergency talks to discuss the issue were to be held later Wednesday ahead of the Group of 20 Summit in Cannes, France.
Financials, under selling pressure earlier in the session, finished off lows or higher. with HSBC Holdings PLC up 0.4% and Bank of China Ltd. down 0.4%.
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. fell 2.2%. Westpac Banking Corp. which also posted fiscal-year earnings, dropped 1.9%.
Nomura Holdings Ltd. which reported a second-quarter loss late Tuesday, slid 4.1% while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. declined 2.3% in Tokyo.
The Greek prime minister's proposals, including a confidence vote for his government, stoked fears about the possibility of a Greek debt default, just days after a package of measures was announced in order to curb Europe’s debt troubles.
Experts said that, given recent developments in Europe, "it is wise to stay close to the safe havens."
Those include gold and the Japanese yen. Gold for December delivery rose $22.10 to $1,733.90 U.S. an ounce in electronic trading on Wednesday. The yen rose against the dollar, with the U.S. currency buying 78.08 yen on Wednesday, down from Monday’s ¥79.53 post-intervention high.
A stronger yen acts to reduce the competitiveness of Japanese exporters, and Mazda Motor Corp. fell 5.4%, Nissan Motor Co. lost 2.8% and Honda Motor Co. traded down 4.2% in the auto sector on Wednesday.
Trading houses lost ground in Tokyo. Mitsubishi Corp. shares were down 3.2% while Itochu Corp. shares lost 2.8%.
Apparel firm Esprit Holdings Ltd, which generates a large proportion of its revenue in Europe, reversed losses to gain 0.2% in Hong Kong.
Selected resource-sector firms also managed to buck the downward trend, with Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. up 1.4% and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. up 2.3%.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index progressed 44.86 points, or 1.7%, to 2,742.39
Taiwan’s Taiex Index faded 23.56 points, or 0.3%, to 7,598.45
Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 11.62 points, or 0.6%, to 1,898.01
Singapore’s Straits Times Index tacked on 45.40 points, or 1.6%, to 2,834.75
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gave back 23.88 points, or 0.7%, to 3,308.89
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index deducted 48.30 points, or 1.1%, to 4,184.60
