Japanese stocks rebounded Friday to recover some of the steep losses suffered in the previous session, aided by a slew of monthly economic data and strong cues from Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 regained 185.51 points, or 1.4%, to 13,774.54, following Thursday’s 5% loss. But the benchmark still ended with a loss of 0.6% in May, after rising in each of the past nine months.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 92.15 points, or 0.4%, to 22,392.10
At Friday’s close, the Nikkei is still up 32.1% in 2013 to date. But it remained in a so-called correction territory, having lost more than 2,168 points, or 13.6%, from its high of 15,942.60 on May 23.
The sharp and swift correction in the Nikkei came amid worries the Federal Reserve may taper its asset purchases and also concerns over extreme volatility recently in the Japanese government bond markets, that also spilled over into the equity markets.
In Japan, the rebound followed data showing April core consumer prices rose 0.3% from March, although they were 0.4% lower from the year-ago month.
Japanese industrial production during the same month rose 1.7% from a year earlier, but a survey indicated lingering pessimism, with manufacturers tipping flat output for May and a 1.4% drop in June.
Among the notable gainers in Tokyo, Sony Corp. rose 2.1% following media reports the company has tapped Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to help sound out options for its entertainment business. The reports came after billionaire hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb recently called on the electronics major to spin off its entertainment business.
Several other exporters also advanced even as the U.S. dollar straddled the ¥101 level.
Shares of Fanuc Corp. rallied 4.3%, and Kyocera Corp. added 2.6%.
Fast Retailing Co. soared 5.1%, but the magnitude was still less than half the 11% plunge it suffered in the previous session amid a broad sell-off across sectors.
Some financial stocks also rebounded modestly Friday, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rising 0.4%, while Resona Holdings Inc. also climbed 0.4%.
In Sydney trade, a retreat in some banks countered gains in mining stocks. Shares of Evolution Mining Ltd. gained 3.2% and Newcrest Mining Ltd. rose 0.6% after an overnight improvement in gold prices.
In the broader mining space, BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 1.2%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. advanced 2.3%.
But heavyweight Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank Ltd. gave up early gains amid further selling pressure on high dividend-paying stocks ahead of the weekend. The stocks fell 1.1% each.
Hong Kong stocks were weighed down as Chinese banks and insurance companies dropped ahead of the release of the monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index data. An official PMI gauge for May was due out Saturday, while a final reading of a separately compiled PMI from HSBC and Markit was scheduled for Monday.
Shares of China Construction Bank Corp. lost 0.8%, Bank of China Ltd. gave up 1.1% China Life Insurance Co. declined 1.9%, weighing the broader market.
In other markets;
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index demurred 27.89 points, or 1.1%, to 2,606.43
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stepped back 24.64 points, or 0.7%, to 3,311.37
In Korea, the Kospi Index inched up 0.95 points to 2,001.05
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added 11.51 points, or 0.1%, to 8,254.80
The New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index gained 40.84 points, or 0.9%, to 4,511.35
Australia’s S&P/ASX docked 4.11 points, or 0.1%, to 4,926.57
