Asia share markets ended mostly lower Thursday, as concerns about Europe‘s debt crisis kept investors sidelined in a quiet trading session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell back 24.73 points, or 0.3%, to 8,398.89
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index collapsed 120.75 points, or 0.7%, to 18,397.90
The performance in Asia followed falls for U.S. stocks ahead of Thursday’s auction of long-dated Italian debt, seen as a crucial test of that nation’s ability to borrow at sustainable rates.
A report from the European Central Bank (E.C.B.) showing it had significantly boosted lending to banks also added to concerns about the debt-stricken region, and helped send the euro to a 15-month low overnight
Japanese technology exporters were among the losers in Tokyo on Thursday, weighed by the fall in the euro against the Japanese yen.
Sharp Corp. lost 3.2%, while Casio Computer Co. fell 2.7%, and Advantest Corp. gave up 1.1%.
Shares of Elpida Memory Inc. dropped 5.1% after the Asahi Shimbun reported the Japanese chip-maker may seek to delay repayment of government loans.
Some South Korean tech shares fared better, however, with Dow Jones Newswires reporting strong interest from domestic institutions. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. climbed 3.8%, while LG Display Co. rose 3.6%, shrugging off a Financial Times report that thousands of employees at an LG Display factory in China had gone on strike over year-end bonuses.
Volatile mainland Chinese property shares came under sharp selling pressure in Hong Kong, with China Resources Land Ltd. dropping 4.9%, Agile Property Holdings Ltd. down 2.7% and Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. giving up 3.6%.
Meanwhile, commodity-linked firms extended previous-session losses across Asia.
Hong Kong-listed China Coal Energy Co. fell 1.5%, and Cnooc Ltd. dropped 1% after benchmark Nymex crude-oil futures lost 2% during the U.S. session.
Likewise, losses for gold futures sent Zijin Mining Group Co. down 2.4%, while Sydney-listed gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. shed 3%.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. gave up 2.1% in Sydney, while OZ Minerals Ltd. lost 2.9% after the miner reported a train carrying copper concentrate derailed in Australia’s Northern Territory.
However, OZ said the incident wouldn’t be financially material.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index edged up 3.43 points, or 0.2%, to 2,311.36
There is growing concern about the health of the Chinese real-estate market, but this concern stood in contrast with action on the mainland, where Shenzhen-listed China Vanke Co. rose 0.9% and Poly Real Estate Group Co. gained 0.7% in Shanghai.
Shares of Chinese Internet major Alibaba.com Ltd. closed with a 0.5% gain in Hong Kong amid reports the company had hired a U.S. political lobbying firm in preparation for a possible bid to buy Yahoo Inc
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 18.15 points, or 0.3%, to 7,074.82
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 0.62 points to 1,825.74
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 6.53 points, or 0.2%, to 2,672.78
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index picked up 9.35 points, or 0.3%, to 3,246.25
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 17.70 points, or 0.4%, to 4,071.10
