Asian stocks traded mostly lower on Friday as commodity-related shares were battered by falling crude-oil and metals prices in jittery markets ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for April.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average returned from several days off to slump 145 points, or 1.5%, to 9,859.20
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell another 102.47 points, or 0.4%, to 23,159.10
The steep overnight drop in the crude-oil and other metals came after the U.S. Labor Department stunned markets by reporting that applications for jobless benefits jumped by 43,000 to 474,000 in the week ended April 30.
Those losses follow a recent correction that started with a sell-off in silver and spread quickly to other commodities. Analysts are now divided as they debate whether the slide marked the beginning of a sustained downtrend for crude-oil and other metals.
Several resource sector stocks took a beating, with Cnooc Ltd. falling 2.3% and gold miner Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. shedding 4.7% in Hong Kong, PetroChina Co. losing 2.2% in Shanghai, and Inpex Corp. tumbling 6.2% in Tokyo.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. each skidded 1.9% in Sydney, Korea Zinc Co. finished 7.6% lower
June Nymex crude-oil futures, having plummeted 8.6% or $9.44 to $99.80 U.S. a barrel overnight, briefly climbed back above $100 U.S. before taking another plunge in electronic trading. The front-month contract was recently down $2.48 at $97.48 U.S. a barrel.
Spot gold prices rose $6 to $1,479.10 a troy ounce, while spot silver was bid down 13 cents at $34.53 U.S. an ounce, according to Kitco.com.
Airline stocks benefited from the lower oil prices, with Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. rising 3.4%, Japan’s All Nippon Airways Ltd. gaining 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airlines Ltd. climbing 3.2% and Korean Air Lines Co. advancing 1.6%.
Shares of South Korean shipbuilders declined as the weakness in crude-oil prices dimmed hopes for an expansion of offshore oil-development projects. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. dropped 4%.
In Tokyo, Honda Motor Co. fell 4.7% after the company expanded a previously announced recall of certain models to fix a potential airbag problem and as a stronger yen weighed.
The market was also disappointed to find out over the three-day holiday that car production in the key North American market will remain limited through the summer due to parts shortages from Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. climbed 6.8% after ventilators were switched on inside the contaminated No.1 reactor building at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex Thursday.
In foreign exchange markets, the yen consolidated against the euro and the dollar after climbing sharply Thursday. The dollar was at 80.44 yen from ¥80.05 in late New York, and well off its U.S. session low of ¥79.57. The euro was fetching ¥116.83 from ¥116.43, after it hit a five-week low of ¥116.15 Thursday.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index gave back 4.72 points, or 0.2%, to 3,121.40
Taiwan’s Taiex Index subtracted 41.38 points, or 0.5%, to 8,977.23
Korea’s Kospi Index returned from holiday to fall 33.19 points, or 1.5%, to 2,147.45
Singapore’s Straits Times index lost 10.33 points, or 0.3%, to 3,099.52
New Zealand’s NZX 50 tacked on 7.37 points, or 0.2%, to 3,506.35
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 deducted 10.70 points, or 0.2%, to 4,743
