Asian stock markets spent most of Tuesday in negative territory, weighed by U.S. and European debt concerns, but the major indexes ended off their lows, with Hong Kong and Seoul closing with gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index faded 33.53 points, or 0.4%, to 8,314.74
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finally reversed course and gained 25.74 points, or 0.1%, to 18,251.60, after several consecutive days of heavy losses.
U.S. stocks had fallen sharply Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving into negative territory for 2011.
The Wall Street drop came as members of a special U.S. debt-cutting committee confirmed they had failed to reach a bipartisan deal to reduce the budget deficit.
IHS Global analysts said that the failure to agree on spending cuts meant "the impression that politicians on both sides of the Atlantic cannot come to grips with their budget problems has been reinforced."
Monday also saw 10-year French government bond yields tick higher, and Moody’s Investor Services warned that rising French borrowing costs and an uncertain outlook posed an ongoing threat for the country’s AAA credit rating.
Against this backdrop, financials put in a lackluster performance. Among decliners, China Construction Bank Corp. dropped 1.1% and Bank of China Ltd. retreated 2% in Hong Kong, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group lost 1.1% and Macquarie Group Ltd. fell 2.1% in Sydney.
However, the Hong Kong market received support from buying in some globally exposed companies, with ports operator Cosco Pacific Ltd. up 1.8%, Li & Fung Ltd. gaining 3.4%, and Tsingtao Brewery Co. rising 1.6%.
Several Chinese Internet plays also moved higher, including a 7.7% rise for Alibaba.com Ltd. and a 3.4% gain for Tencent Holdings Ltd.
In Japan, many exporters saw gains as the U.S. dollar spent much of the day back above the 77-yen mark.
Honda Motor Co. rose 2%, Nissan Motor Co. added 1.8%, Sony Corp. gained 3.1%, and Toshiba Corp. rallied 4.5%.
In Seoul, Hyundai Motor Co. rose 0.9%, while tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics Co. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. gained 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively, helping the Kospi to its positive finish.
Osaka Securities Exchange Co. rose 4.6% on the Jasdaq after it and the unlisted Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. announced they would complete a merger that is expected to result in world’s third-largest exchange operator.
Fosun International Ltd. shares dropped 6.5% in Hong Kong due to the company’s nearly 20% stake in Nasdaq-traded Focus Media Holding Ltd., as the latter was accused by research house Muddy Waters LLC of misleading investors
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index eased 0.21 points to 2,609.48
Taiwan’s Taiex Index erased 42.61 points, or 0.6%, to 7,000.03
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 6.25 points, or 0.3%, to 1,826.28
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 19.22 points, or 0.7%, to 2,717.20
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 4.29 points, or 0.1%, to 3,252.27
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index let go of 30 points, or 0.7%, to 4,133
