Most Asian markets fell Wednesday as heightened worries about rising Spanish and Italian bond yields weighed on investor sentiment, sending Japanese stocks lower for a seventh straight trading day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index lost another 79.28 points, or 0.8%, to 9,458.74, the seventh straight down session.
The Nikkei, which ranked among the world’s best performing benchmarks in the first quarter with a gain of more than 19%, has shed 6.2% of its value so far this month.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index collapsed another 215.57 points, or 1.1%, to 20,140.70
Asian markets began the day in reverse gear after European stocks plunged and U.S. stocks suffered this year’s worst drop on Tuesday, as a sharp rise in Spanish and Italian borrowing costs stirred fresh worries about Europe’s debt crisis.
But many regional markets came off the day’s lows as U.S. stock index futures climbed after aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. reported a surprise profit after U.S. markets closed.
The decline in Tokyo also came as Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. each disappointed with a weak earnings forecast.
Sony stock tumbled 4.5% and Sharp gave up 3.2%.
Some other exporters fell on the yen’s recent appreciation. Panasonic Corp. dropped 2.2%, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. shed 3.3% and Pioneer Corp. declined 1.3%.
The region’s aluminum shares fell under the influence of the broader market decline, despite Alcoa’s upbeat results. In Sydney trading, Alumina Ltd. lost 0.4%, Nippon Light Metal Co. lost 2.6% in Tokyo and United Co. Rusal dropped 2.1% in Hong Kong.
Several resource firms declined on fresh worries about Europe and after crude-oil and copper prices declined overnight.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. each dropped 1.9%, while Inpex Corp. shed 0.8% in Tokyo. In Hong Kong, Cnooc Ltd. and PetroChina Co. gave up 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Property developers also contributed to the overall weakness in Hong Kong, where Sino Land Ltd. tumbled 4%, while CC Land Holdings Ltd. dropped 0.6% and Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. shed 1.4%.
But some analysts remained optimistic about developers, with Deutsche Bank strategists naming Guangzhou R&F and CC Land among its top picks.
CHINA
In Shanghai, meanwhile, some property developers continued to rise amid expectations the government will loosen its policies.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index gained 0.25 points to 2,520.04
Cinda Real Estate Co. added 2.5% and Poly Real Estate Group Co. gained 1% in Shanghai, while Oceanwide Real Estate Group Co. soared 6% in Shenzhen.
In other markets;
Markets in Korea had the day off
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index gained 15.99 points, or 0.2%, to 7,656.67
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gave back 36 points, or 1.2%, to 2,946.44
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 9.72 points, or 0.3%, to 3,465.39
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index subtracted 46.14 points, or 1.1%, to 4,246.12
