Japan's Nikkei share average dropped for a third day on Friday as investors remained cautious amid tensions in Ukraine, while a stronger yen weighed on risk appetite and dragged down exporters.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 82.04 points, or 0.6%, to end the week and month at 14,841.07. The index It fell 0.2% for the week and dropped 0.5% for the month.
The yen strengthened slightly during Asian trading -- the U.S. dollar was last at ¥101.89, breaking below the ¥102 mark, compared with ¥102.17 late Thursday in New York.
Hong Kong shares had a feeble finish to a strong month on Friday, with investors cutting exposure to Chinese cyclicals as a sliding yuan stoked jitters ahead of a manufacturing survey and a key parliamentary meeting next week.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong inched forward 8.78 points to 22,836.96
Index heavyweights Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa each rose about 1% after both released positive earnings at the midday break, limiting losses on the day.
The Hang Seng climbed 3.6% in February in its first monthly gain since it rose 2.9% in November.
Australia was one of the strongest performers in February, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 4.6% since the end of January, wiping out the month’s 3% loss. Stocks in Sydney have followed U.S. markets higher, while a strong local reporting season has also helped sentiment.
The market was on a tear in recent weeks, surging 8.1% from its low on February 5 to its peak on February 25, when it hit a more-than-five-year high.
In Australia, the corporate-earnings season progressed as shares in Woolworths Ltd dropped 1% on profit-taking, after the country’s largest retailer by value said that first-half profit jumped 15% due to rising food and liquor sales. Despite Friday’s fall, the stock remains 6.4% up for the year, outperforming the broader market.
Also in Sydney, Virgin Australia Holdings fell 0.9% after the airline posted a first-half loss. Manufacturer of building materials James Hardie Industries jumped 7.1% after its third-quarter underlying net profit beat expectations.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index hiked 24.86 points, or 1.2%, to 2,178.97
Markets were little moved ahead of the release of China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for February, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Last week, HSBC’s measure fell to a seven-month low and investors will be looking to see if the official reading makes a similar move.
China's yuan suffered its biggest weekly loss on record on Friday, as the central bank stepped up its intervention to weaken the currency ahead of a key government meeting next week which may be used as a platform to unveil more market reforms.
On Friday, the yuan briefly weakened to 6.1808 per U.S. dollar in intraday trade, more than 0.8% below the previous close despite the central bank fixing the yuan slightly stronger at 6.1214 per U.S. dollar.
In other markets;
Markets in Taiwan were closed
Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 14.04 points, or 0.5%, to 3,110.78
Korea’s Kospi Index nicked ahead 1.56 points, or 0.1%, to 1,979.99
The New Zealand Exchange 50 index recovered 25.70 points, or 0.5%, to 4,990.04
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 6.63 points, or 0.1%, to 5,404.82
