Asian stocks weakened Monday, although some Japanese exporters got a lift after Tokyo intervened in the foreign-exchange market to send the yen sharply lower.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index scaled back 62.08 points, or 0.7%, to finish Monday at 8,988.39
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index soared 154.73 points, or 0.8%, to 19,864.90
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said his ministry had ordered the Bank of Japan to conduct the intervention -- the first such move since August.
Gains for many auto makers some tech exporters helped limit the broader market’s fall, with Toyota Motor Corp. up 0.5%, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. higher by 1.9% and Nikon Corp. rising 1.8%.
However, Honda Motor Co. finished down 3.7% after a report in the Nikkei business daily that the company would need to replace machinery at its Thailand plant due to flood damage there, with the facilities potentially remaining shut for six months.
Honda reported after the close of trade that its July-September profit fell 56% from a year earlier and declined to give a new fiscal-year outlook due to uncertainty surrounding the Thai floods.
Commodity-sector firms were notably weak as the dollar appreciated following the Bank of Japan’s move, with metal and oil futures losing ground in electronic trading.
Shares of Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. fell 6.9% in Hong Kong, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. lost 1.6% in Tokyo, and Rio Tinto Ltd. dropped 1.4% in Sydney.
Despite the weaker performance on Monday, key Asian benchmarks chalked up monthly gains, including 3.3% for the Nikkei Average and 12.9% for the Hang Seng Index.
Stocks had moved higher during October as European leaders hammered out a plan to address the region’s debt problems. That plan, announced last week, was generally welcomed by markets, although many details remained to be announced.
Banks were mostly lower on Monday in Asia, with Nomura Holdings Inc. down 2.3% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. lower by 3.8% in Japanese trade.
In Hong Kong, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. lost 1.4%, and Bank of China Ltd. gave up 1.1%, while China Construction Bank Corp. fell 0.7% after its quarterly results missed analysts’ expectations.
However, Aozora Bank Ltd. shares added 2.6% in Tokyo after the lender hiked its fiscal half-year and full-year profit forecasts.
Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd. added 4.3%, while rival Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. climbed 4.2%.
Qantas, which is embroiled in a battle with labour unions, grounded its entire fleet on Saturday. That prompted a ruling that there will be 21 days of negotiations between the parties, and that no industrial action can take place during this time frame.
As a result, Qantas began resuming its flights later Monday after receiving safety clearance.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index moved down 13.91 points, or 0.5%, to 2,695.31
Taiwan’s Taiex Index faded 28.37 points, or 0.4%, to 7,587.69
Korea’s Kospi Index lost 20.45 points, or 1.1%, to 1,909.03
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 49.95 points, or 1.7%, to 2,855.77
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index bucked the trend and inched ahead 6.95 points, or 0.2%, to 3,332.56
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index deducted 55.20 points, or 1.3%, to 4,298.10
