Japanese shares beat a sharp retreat after opening comfortably higher on Friday, with a wave of selling ahead of weekend elections in the country also dragging on other regional markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jettisoned 218.58 points, or 1.5%, to 14,589.91, after witnessing extreme volatility during the session.
The benchmark rose nearly 1% in the morning session before suffering heavy losses that dragged the benchmark down to a loss of 2.7% at one point, which traders attributed to selling in the futures market but not related to any particular news.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index actually gained 17.20 points, or 0.1%, to 21,362.42
The volatility in Tokyo came ahead of the country’s upper house elections this weekend, in which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to easily clinch a majority.
The LDP already has a majority in the lower house of the parliament, and a majority in the upper chamber of the Diet would strengthen Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government in its attempt to revive the Japanese economy.
Stocks across sectors were affected by the volatility in Tokyo trading. Shares of Tokyo Electron Ltd. slumped 5.7%, Tokyo Electric Power Co. sank 1.2%, and Isuzu Motors Ltd. fell 2.1%, with each of them reversing early gains.
Sharp Corp. came off early highs but ended up 0.9% after the Nikkei newspaper reported it was considering raising funds via a private placement to Lixil Group Corp. and Makita Corp.
Shares of Lixil added 0.8%, and Makita fell 2.4%.
Hong Kong shares were supported as heavyweight stock HSBC Holdings PL C rose 1.2% after the higher finish on Wall Street.
But Chinese property developers suffered big losses, with China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. sliding 2.1% and Beijing North Star Co. sliding 2.9% in Hong Kong.
Santos Ltd. fell 3.7% after reporting a decline in production and cutting forecasts for oil and gas output.
CHINA
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 54.85 points, or 2.4%, to 2,190.48, amid lingering worries over the economy and the lack of policy action to stimulate growth.
On mainland Chinese bourses, Poly Real Estate Group Co. skidded 5.6% in Shanghai and the yuan-denominated A-shares of China Vanke Co. fell 5.5% in Shenzhen.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index got bruised 132.85 points, or 1.6%, to 8,062.03
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 4.94 points, or 0.2%, to 3,213.26
Korea’s Kospi Index faded 4.07 points, or 0.2%, to 1,871.41
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index lost 25.08 points, or 0.6%, to 4,538.31
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated 21.33 points, or 0.4%, to 4,972.09
