Asian shares mostly lost ground on Friday, with investors taking a lead from the U.S. and sending technology stocks lower, although emerging monetary-policy support helped lift China.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index slid another 27.02 points, or 0.3%, to end the week at 9,561.36
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 15.63 points, or 0.1%, to 21,010.60.
Toshiba Corp. dropped 2.4%, Advantest Corp. traded down 0.3%, and Fujitsu Ltd. moved lower by 2.5%.
The Korean market also felt the weight of tech-share losses, with semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics Co. down 1.9%, LG Electronics Inc. off 1.5%, and SK Hynix Inc. losing 4%.
LG Chem Ltd. tumbled 9.2% in Seoul after unveiling a much weaker-than-expected 42% drop in first-quarter net profit compared to the year-ago period. Elsewhere in the sector, Honam PetroChemical Corp. fell 8.3%.
In Hong Kong trading, Internet major Tencent Holdings Ltd. fell 1.4%, while shares of Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. dropped 2.7%.
Hong Kong-listed financials mostly recovered from early weakness by the close. Bank of Communications Co. was off 0.5%, and Bank of China Ltd. finished flat, with both lenders due to report earnings next week.
Insurer AIA Group Ltd. was unchanged after reporting strong operational data for the first quarter.
Among Asian energy and materials firms, Hong Kong-listed oil giant Cnooc Ltd. fell 0.6%, and Jiangxi Copper Co. shed 0.9%.
Japan’s JFE Holdings Inc. lost 3.3% in Tokyo after a Nikkei report saying the steel maker planned to increase its three-year investment target by 25%.
In Australian trading, miners were weak, though they recovered ground by the close. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd fell 1.1%, and BHP Billiton Ltd. finished unchanged.
However, Oil Search Ltd. jumped 5.7% after the firm said that it has found more gas in Papua New Guinea.
Also in Sydney, U.S.-exposed building-materials firm Boral Ltd. dropped 2.9% after it cut its fiscal-year profit guidance, citing bad weather and a softer housing market
In other markets;
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index gained 30.78 points, or 1.2%, to 2,626.84
Korea’s Kospi Index stumbled 25.21 points, or 1.3%, to 1,974.65
The Taiex index in Taiwan tumbled 115.54 points, or 1.5%, to 7,507.15
Singapore’s Straits Times Index subsided 13.73 points, or 0.5%, to 2,994.48
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index settled 8.96 points, or 0.3%, to 3,516.23
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inched ahead 3.77 points, or 0.1%, to 4,366.50
