Japanese stocks tumbled Friday to snap a five-week winning streak as exporters skidded on the yen’s strength, while shares in Australia and Hong Kong climbed following gains on Wall Street.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 432.95 points, or 3.2%, to 14,129.98, to end the week with a 3.2% loss
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 67.99 points, or 0.3%, to 21,968.95
The sharp slide in Japanese equities came as the U.S. dollar slid under the ¥99-level Friday, after straddling ¥100 in Asian trading the previous day.
Meanwhile, investors’ attention turned to earnings for the quarter ended June 30 and companies’ forecasts.
Shares of Advantest Corp. plunged 9.7% after the technology firm on Thursday reported a net loss, compared with a profit in the year-ago period.
Auto major Nissan lost 1.4% despite reporting a 14% increase in quarterly profit, while Suzuki Motor Corp. slid 2.2% in a downbeat market despite better-than-expected results at its Indian subsidiary.
Banks also retreated, shrugging off a Nikkei newspaper report the nation’s three so-called megabanks had likely generated a 20% increase in quarterly profits.
Among the trio, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lost 3.9%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. tumbled 4.7%, while Mizuho Financial Group Inc. dropped 2.8%.
Official data released earlier in the day showed June consumer prices rose in Japan after the central bank launched a monetary stimulus on an unprecedented scale earlier this year.
Over in Seoul, shares of Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 0.9%. The world’s largest chip maker by sales said its second-quarter profit rose 50% to hit a fresh record, but its earnings momentum showed signs of slowing in terms of its key smartphone segment.
Shares of Kia Motors Corp. rose 0.7% after it reported a 7.8% increase in second-quarter profit, although it also warned on its outlook for the remainder of 2013.
Shares of China Railway Construction Corp. fell 2.2%, and China Railway Group Ltd. lost 1.6% in Hong Kong, a day after they rallied in response to Beijing’s announcement of planned investments in railways Wednesday.
The two companies’ Shanghai-listed shares, which had also advanced Thursday, overcame early losses to finish the day up 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively.
An advance for Australian banking shares led the S&P/ASX 200 to a fifth straight day of gains. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group rose 1%, and National Australia Bank Ltd. advanced 0.4%.
In other markets;
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 dipped 13.67 points, or 0.6%, to 2,224.01
Taiwan’s Taiex Index lost 14.18 points, or 0.2%, to 8,149.40
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index eked up 0.42 points to 3,236.10
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 1.20 points, or 0.1%, to 1,910.81
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index tacked on 5.20 points, or 0.1%, to 4,581.99
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 hiked 6.42 points, or 0.1%, to 5,042.03
