Stocks in Hong Kong and Australia fell Friday to lead several Asian markets lower after a roller-coaster ride as cautious investors were unwilling to make bold moves before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech later in the day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average added 25.42 points, or 0.3%, to 8,797.78
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sagged 169.60 points, or 0.9%, to 19,582.90
The choppy performance came as several analysts said the Fed was unlikely to signal willingness to consider another round of monetary easing — the central bank’s third round of quantitative easing, or QE3 — to stimulate the U.S. economy.
Despite the day's performance, most regional indexes ended the week with gains. China’s Shanghai Composite rose more than 3%, while the Kospi and S&P/ASX 200 climbed 2% and 2.4%, respectively.
The day’s choppy moves for the broader stock indexes concealed some larger changes for shares of individual firms.
In Hong Kong, strong first-half earnings boosted shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. by 1.4%.
Shares of energy major PetroChina Co. lost 3.6% and shipping firm China Cosco Holdings Co. dropped 1% in Hong Kong after reporting earnings that came in below expectations.
Fairfax Holdings Ltd. surged 7.1% despite swinging to a fiscal-year loss after the Australian media group said it will push ahead with an initial public offering for one of its units.
In Taipei, shares of Apple Inc. suppliers Catcher Technology Co. and Radiant Opto-Electronics Corp. climbed 2.8% and 4.4%, respectively, on hopes their business wouldn’t be affected by the resignation of Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs.
Several Japanese shares posted modest gains despite sharp overnight losses on Wall Street, amid domestic political developments as Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed his resignation, paving the way for a new head of government.
Shares of Sony Corp. added 0.7% and Mazda Motor Corp. rose 1.3%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 0.6%
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index eased 2.62 points, or 0.1%, to 2,901.22
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 14.37 points, or 0.8%, to 1,778.95
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 34.23 points, or 0.5%, to 7,445.10
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stumbled 17.56 points, or 0.6%, to 2,748.18
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index reversed itself 5.95 points, or 0.2%, to 3,295.63
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index removed 12.80 points, or 0.3%, to 4,200
