Most Asian stock markets ended lower Wednesday, with Hong Kong shares suffering big afternoon losses as Moody’s Investors Services moved to put Spain’s sovereign credit rating on review for a possible downgrade.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index slipped 6.99 points to 10,309.80
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index collapsed 455.84 points, or 2%, to 22,975.30
Japanese shares struggled for direction after the Bank of Japan’s tankan survey showed sentiment deteriorated in the country’s manufacturing sector.
Losses in Hong Kong were fronted by energy-sector shares as crude-oil prices extended their overnight losses on Globex.
Cnooc slid 2.8% and PetroChina Co. dropped 3.6% in the city, with PetroChina also falling 0.9% in Shanghai.
Cathay Pacific Airways tumbled 7.2% in Hong Kong after the International Air Transport Association raised industry profit estimates for 2010 and 2011, but said that "despite the higher projections, we still see the recovery pausing next year after a strong post-recession rebound."
Cathay’s shares are still up more than 50% in 2010 to date.
In Japan, the release of the December tankan survey was in focus, with the headline diffusion index for large manufacturers falling to 5 -- better than expectations for a reading of 3.
Toyota Motor Corp. rose 0.9% and Sony Corp. added 0.4%, while Sharp Corp. lost 1.6% and Fast Retailing Co. declined 0.7%.
In the drug sector, Otsuka Holdings rose on its debut, finishing at ¥2,140, up from its initial-public-offer price of ¥2,100. The pharmaceutical company’s $2.3 billion IPO is the world’s largest IPO for a drug maker on record.
In Sydney, some analysts said the rise in U.S. Treasury yields suggested investments will increasingly shift into riskier assets.
South Korean shipping stocks rose further after posting solid gains Tuesday on news that Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a $1.45-billion U.S. contract with a German company to build 10 container vessels. In Wednesday’s trading, Hyundai Heavy rose 1.8%.
In currency trading, the euro was changing hands for $1.3333 U.S. from $1.3382 U.S. late Tuesday in New York, and at 111.83 yen from ¥111.94. The dollar was at ¥83.88 from ¥83.65.
In other markets
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index gave back 21.83 points, or 0.7%, to 3,247.64
Singapore’s Straits Times Index let go of 29.71 points, or 0.9%, to 3,147.20
Korea’s Kospi Index added 8.43 points, or 0.6%, to 2,017.48
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 16.28 points, or 0.2%, to 8,756.71
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index inched forward 8.97 points, or 0.3%, to 3,297.92
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was 0.90 points higher to 4,767.80
