Most Asian markets ended the last trading day of the third quarter on an upbeat note Friday, encouraged by Spain’s budget proposals and optimism that Chinese policy makers would act to support the economy.
The Nikkei 225 Index declined 79.71 points, or 0.9%, to 8,870.16
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 78.09 points, or 0.4%, to 20,840.38
Stock markets are closed the whole of next week on mainland China, and through Tuesday in Hong Kong, for holidays.
The day’s broad advance came after the Spanish government said it expected to meet the 2012 budget-deficit goal of 6.3% and set a deficit target of 4.5% for 2013. Borrowing costs in Spain eased after the announcement.
The day’s performance added to a solid quarterly advance for many regional markets, with the benchmark indexes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and South Korea ending the July to September period with gains of between 5.7% and 7.7%.
Chinese and Japanese shares lost ground during the period, however. The Shanghai Composite sank 6.3% amid worries about the economic outlook and as investors waited for fresh stimulus measures from Beijing, while the Nikkei Average slid 1.5% on concerns about the yen’s strength and the territorial dispute with China.
Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. climbed 1.3%, China Merchants Bank Co. added 1.4% and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. gained 1.3% in Hong Kong.
Japanese auto stocks fell after data out Friday showed industry exports fell 5.4% in August from a year ago, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The data added to gloom over the economy, with figures released earlier in the day showing industrial production fell 1.3% in August.
Honda Motor Co. dropped 2.7% and Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.4%.
Shares of Aozora Bank Ltd. climbed 3% in the downbeat market after announcing a buy back of up to about 20% of its share float. That offset news that U.S. buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP — Aozora’s largest shareholder — would sell some of its stake in the lender.
Stock-buyback hopes also led to gains for Kobe Steel Ltd., which added 3.3%. A Yomiuri Shimbun report late Thursday said it was likely to repurchase some of its shares from Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. — which are set to merge formally on Monday. Shares of Nippon Steel rose 0.6%.
South Korea’s market drew support from some strength in the tech sector, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co., up 0.6% and LG Display Co., up 2%.
Some energy sector shares climbed as U.S. benchmark crude-oil futures pushed further up after rising 2.1% Thursday, amid geopolitical concerns over developments in the Middle East.
JX Holdings Inc. climbed 1.4% in Tokyo, while in Sydney, Santos Ltd. advanced 0.7%.
Gold miners were performing strongly on a recent rally in gold prices. Newcrest Mining Ltd. added 3.3% in Sydney, while Zijin Mining Group Co. rose 1.6% in Hong Kong and 3.9% in Shanghai.
CHINA
Chinese property and banking shares rose in both Shanghai and Hong Kong ahead of next week’s holidays.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index improved 41.39 points, or 1.8%, to 2,293.11
In Shanghai, ICBC added 0.5% and CMB rose 0.8%, while Poly Real Estate Group Ltd jumped 4.1% and Gemdale Corp. advanced 3.7%.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi index took on 7.51 points, or 0.4%, to 1,996.21
The Singapore Straits Times Index eked ahead 0.91 points to 3,060.34
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added 31.36 points, or 0.4%, to 7,715.16
New Zealand’s NZX index gained 25.12 points, or 0.7%, to 3,834.15
Australia’s ASX Index picked up 2.85 points to 4,387.02
