Asian markets ended lower on Tuesday, with Japan breaking an eight-day winning streak, while liquidity concerns weighed on stocks in Shanghai.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index shed 34.24 points, or 0.3%, to 12,314.81
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jettisoned 200.22 points, or 0.9%, to 22,890.60
Trading started on a good note early Tuesday, with a positive lead from Wall Street, which rose for its seventh consecutive session on Monday, reaching a record.
Domestic headwinds in individual markets, however, led the region into negative territory as the session progressed.
MTR Corp. fell 2.3% after the Hong Kong rail operator’s 2012 net profit fell by 13%, as fewer sales offset an increase in rail and retail income.
Also in Hong Kong, China’s largest shipping company, China Cosco Holdings, fell 5.3% after the company said that it planned to sell its logistics unit to its state-owned parent.
Australian stocks also fell afoul of disheartening domestic news. Local business conditions weakened slightly in February, according to a survey by National Australia Bank. The data helped pull the market into negative territory after it traded flat early in the session.
Japanese stocks ended lower, unaffected by further declines in the yen. The U.S. dollar strengthened to 96.38 yen from 96.28 late Monday in New York.
Shares that have performed in recent sessions pulled back on Tuesday, though technology exporters welcomed the weaker yen: Fast Retailing fell 2.3% while Canon Inc. climbed 1.3%.
Also in Tokyo, Japan Tobacco fell 0.7% after the Japanese government said that it would sell part of its stake in the company to the public for 747 billion yen.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal jumped 4.4% following a Nikkei report that said the company is making the final arrangements to stop operations of a blast furnace at a major steelwork in order to reduce excess capacity.
CHINA
The largest drop was in mainland China, where shares dropped for a fourth session. Residual concern about the recovery in Asia’s largest economy persisted. Recent economic data disappointed investors, with a spike in inflation a particular concern. In addition, sentiment has been dented the central government’s renewed measures to control the property market.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite 300 index fell 36.76 points, or 1.4%, to 2,555.61, after the central bank signaled that it planned to drain more cash from the financial system.
The People’s Bank of China "clearly is mopping up liquidity, and this will likely lead to March’s manufacturing data and other economic activity coming in weaker compared to February," according to one expert.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi Index slid 10.01 points, or 0.5%, to 1,993.34
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index dropped 44.01 points, or 0.6%, to 7,994.71
The Singapore Straits Times Index added 10.05 points, or 0.3%, to 3,303.02
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 index gained 12.19 points, or 0.3%, to 4,378.77
In Australia, the S&P/ASX subtracted 29.04 points, or 0.6%, to 5,117.87
