Major Asian equity markets finished off lows Wednesday, as gains for Chinese banks worked to offset losses connected to weak results from U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa and a snag for Europe’s bailout-fund expansion.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index backtracked 34.78 points, or 0.4%, to 8,738.90
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index continued its climb, gaining 187.87 points, or 1%, to 18,329.50
Asian stock markets were sitting on weekly gains after France and Germany recently pledged to support the European banking sector and China’s sovereign-wealth fund bought up shares in selected banks.
However, a stumbling block emerged in the path toward resolving Europe’s debt woes late Tuesday, after the Slovakian parliament rejected a plan to expand the area’s €440-billion ($600-billion U.S.) bailout fund.
The rejection was not unexpected, as the ruling party had struggled to obtain support for the plan, and approval was expected later in the week, but the news was enough to derail investor enthusiasm for stocks.
In the banking sector, Nomura Holdings Inc. declined 1.4% in Japan, and Westpac Banking Corp. ended lower by 1.3% in Australia.
However, after a shaky start, many Chinese banks swung to gains in Hong Kong, with Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. up 2.3%, and Bank of China Ltd. trading 1.5% higher.
The gains came a day after Central Huijin Investment Ltd., the domestic investment arm of China’s sovereign-wealth fund bought shares of those banks and others.
Chinese airlines were also higher, with Air China Ltd up 5.7% and China Eastern Airlines Corp. up 5.7% in Hong Kong after Morgan Stanley upgraded the sector to attractive, citing "more reasonable valuations."
Resource-sector firms were weak Wednesday, with BHP Billiton Ltd. down 0.8%, and Alumina Ltd. falling 2.5% in Sydney. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. lost 1.4% in Tokyo.
The retreat came after Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicked off the U.S. reporting season with a third-quarter profit improvement that fell well short of Wall Street targets.
In Japan, Honda Motor Co. dropped 2.2%, while camera maker Nikon Corp. gave up 3.5%, after the firms suspended production in Thailand due to the worst flooding seen in that country for almost 50 years.
In Hong Kong, shares of Esprit Holdings Ltd. fell 7.5% -- extending a string of losses in recent session -- after a report in Chinese-language magazine Next that the firm misstated the number of outlets it operates in China.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index recovered 92.76 points, or 3.6%, to 2,644.76.
Taiwan’s Taiex Index faded 16.36 points, or 0.2%, to 7,382.35
Korea’s Kospi grew 14.48 points, or 0.8%, to 1,809.50
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 44.70 points, or 1.7%, to 2,737.75
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slid 71.03 points, or 2.1%, to 3,325.12
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 23.30 points, or 0.6%, to 4,204.30.
