Most Asian markets ended with marginal gains or narrow losses on Friday cautious investors held off from making big bets ahead of a slew of Chinese data due to be released this weekend.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 12.66 points, or 0.2%, to close the week at 8,534.12
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index zoomed 137.38 points, or 0.7%, to 21,136.43
The performance followed a lackluster session on Wall Street, where better-than-expected jobless claims data helped to support sentiment bruised by a weak start to the third-quarter earnings season.
The weekly performance was weak in most regional markets, with the Nikkei Average, Taiex and Kospi sliding more than 3%, while Australian shares ended marginally lower. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng Index ended with a gain of less than 1%.
Japanese mobile carrier Softbank took a pounding Friday, dropping by a record 16.9%, after confirming it’s in talks which could lead to a substantial investment in Sprint Nextel Corp
Although the company said no final decision was made, and didn’t provide any financial details, sources told The Wall Street Journal that the firm was looking at a 70% ownership stake in Sprint in a deal that could be worth about $12.8 billion U.S.
A Reuters report, meanwhile, said Softbank was in talks with Japanese lenders to secure a $23-billion U.S. loan to finance a bid for Sprint. The Nikkei newspaper in a separate report said three large Japanese banks were considering extending about 1.5 trillion yen ($19.2 billion U.S.) in credit to Softbank.
Fast Retailing weighed heavily on the Japanese market, tumbling 9.9% after the owner of the Uniqlo casual-clothing chain released figures late Thursday that showed the firm’s fiscal-year net profit rose 32% but missed its own target.
Some of those losses were offset as the U.S. dollar gained more ground against the yen. The dollar was buying ¥78.44 by late afternoon in Hong Kong, compared with ¥78.33 late Thursday.
That appeared to help exporters, with Advantest Corp. and Canon Inc. each rising 2.3%.
Manwhile, Billabong International Ltd. dropped 16.9% in Sydney after buyout firm TPG withdrew its offer for the surfwear-chain owner.
Among Australian miners, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. rose 2.7% after announcing a fundraising plan
CHINA
Investors also looked ahead to China’s trade data, due to be released over the weekend, widely expected to provide more clues about the health of the Chinese economy.
The Shanghai CSI 300 index added two points, or 0.1%, Friday, to 2,304.93
The trade figures will be followed in the next few days by several other economic indicators, including third-quarter economic growth and September inflation and industrial output data.
In other markets
The Singapore Straits Times Index eked up 9.09 points, or 0.3%, to 3,041.75
Korea’s Kospi index edged up 0.17 points to 1,933.26
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 14.68 points, or 0.2%, to 7,437.04
New Zealand’s NZX index took on 13.35 points, or 0.3%, to 3,896.66
Australia’s ASX Index nosed up 3.05 points, or 0.2%, to 4,483.53
