Asian markets ended mixed in light holiday trading Thursday, with Japanese stocks declining on worries over violence in Egypt and disappointing results from blue-chips such as Panasonic Corp.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index subsided 26 points, or 0.3%, to 10,431.40
Australian shares were led higher by insurers after a tropical cyclone caused less damage than feared.
The session was marked by caution in the wake of violent clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in Egypt, as well as sluggish overnight leads from Wall Street.
Sydney stocks ticked higher in relief after a tropical cyclone that hit North Queensland in the early hours of Thursday caused less damage than had been feared. Cyclone Yasi -- described by officials as one of the largest to ever hit the continent -- was downgraded to Category 2 from Category 5.
Insurers and some transport stocks attracted buyers, with Suncorp Group adding 2.9% and Insurance Australia Group climbing 3%, while rail operator QR National rose 1.4%.
QBE Insurance Group was on a trading halt pending an announcement. A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires that Bank of America-Merrill Lynch is in talks to sell its Balboa insurance division to QBE for between A$1 billion and A$2 billion ($1.01 billion and $2.02 billion U.S.). A QBE spokeswoman declined to comment.
Resource stocks advanced after Goldman Sachs upgraded its commodity price forecasts, with BHP Billiton rising 1.4% and Rio Tinto adding 0.4%.
The drop in Tokyo came after the market rose in the previous two sessions. Weak third-quarter earnings hit Panasonic Corp. and Ricoh Co. which fell 3.2% and 9.9%, respectively. Consumer lender Acom Co. also dropped 6.8% on sluggish third quarter earnings.
Fast Retailing was among the gainers, rising 3.8% after reporting a 10.7% gain in domestic sales in January at its Uniqlo casual clothing chain.
Stocks in Wellington slipped in the wake of weak jobs data, showing New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 6.8% in the fourth quarter, from 6.4% in the third.
The weak jobs report is "another piece of data highlighting the fragility of New Zealand’s recovery to date and we believe it should continue to cement the (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) to the sidelines" for the time being, said Goldman Sachs economist Philip Borkin.
Shares of Telecom Corp. of New Zealand dropped 0.9% and Nuplex Industries shed 0.8%.
The euro was buying $1.3802 U.S. from $1.3810 U.S. late in New York on Wednesday, and Y112.62 from Y112.64. The dollar was at Y81.60, compared with Y81.55.
In other markets
Markets in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and China had the day off for the Lunar New Year holidays this week
New Zealand’s NZX 50 sifted off 2.41 points to 3,349.89
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 grew 24.10 points, or 0.5%, to 4,820.60.
