Chinese stocks led Asia markets sharply lower on Wednesday, as efforts to stitch together a Greek government stoked anxiety about the future for the euro zone, while a strong yen pressured exporters in Japan.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index erased 136.59 points, or 1.5%, to 9,045.06
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong subtracted 154.11 points, or 0.8%, to 20,330.64
The likelihood of a fresh ballot in Greece increased as political deadlock continued, while the leader of the leftist Syriza party called on the country’s two ruling parties to rescind their support for austerity measures as he attempted to put together a coalition government.
Gains for index heavyweight HSBC Holdings however, helped stem further losses in Hong Kong. Shares climbed 0.7% after the bank reported a 25% rise in underlying pre-tax first-quarter profit late Tuesday.
The Greek drama helped send the euro lower, trading at $1.2985, down from $1.3014 in late North American trading Tuesday. At the same time, the Japanese yen remained at elevated levels, with the U.S. dollar buying ¥79.77, down from ¥79.81 in late North American trading Tuesday, and below ¥79.95 reached Monday.
The strong yen kept pressure on exporters in Tokyo, with losses including a 3.8% drop for Fujitsu Ltd., a 4.1% fall for Komatsu Ltd., and a 1.6% retreat for Pioneer Corp.
Car makers also lost ground, with Nissan Motor Co. down 1.7%, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. giving up 2.3%.
Investors delivered a mixed reaction to a string of earnings-related news.
Toshiba Corp. rose 1% after it posted a quarterly loss in line with estimates but tipped a profit for the current fiscal year.
Panasonic Corp shares jumped 1.7% after a Nikkei news report that the company will post a loss for the last fiscal year but will swing to profit for the current year.
Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. was a sharp outperformer, with shares up 6%, after reporting a 24% drop in annual profit but forecasting a 25% profit gain for the full fiscal year ending next March.
Worries about a possible hit to global growth from the Greek political situation weighed heavily on commodity markets overnight, resulting in weakness for resource firms in Asian trading.
In Sydney, diversified miner Rio Tinto Ltd. sank 1.7%, while gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. tumbled 5.3%, and copper miner PanAust Ltd. plunged 6.6%.
Energy firms were also hard hit after crude-oil futures fell to below $97 U.S. a barrel in electronic trading.
Oil Search Ltd. lost 2.5%, and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. dropped 3.9% in Sydney, while JX Holdings Inc. gave up 2.7% in Tokyo.
Shipping-sector firms notched heavy losses in Seoul, where Samsung Engineering Co. slumped 6.7% and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. slumped 5.1%.
Toyota Motor Corp. traded steady ahead of its quarterly results and after a report it plans to outsource production of hybrid vehicles to the U.S. and China
CHINA
Property and financial firms were sharp underperformers in China.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index jettisoned 51.60 points, or 1.9%, to 2,657.51
Agile Property Holdings Ltd. slumped 3% and Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. tumbled 3.4% in Hong Kong, while Gemdale Corp. dropped 2% in Shanghai.
In the financial sector, Bank of China Ltd. lost 1% and Bank of Communications Co. gave up 1.6%.
In other markets;
Singapore's Straits Times Index slid 31.07 points, or 1.1%, to 2,900.91
Korea’s Kospi Index edged downward 16.72 points, or 0.9%, to 1,950.29
Taiwan’s Taiex Index skidded 70 points, or 0.9%, to 7,475.71
New Zealand’s NXZ Index gained 7.41 points, or 0.2%, to 3,559.47
Australia’s ASX Index stumbled 39.27 points, or 0.9%, to 4,275.08
