Most Asian indexes ended lower Tuesday in volatile trading, taking their cue from a weaker Wall Street.
In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 index fell 13.90 points, or 0.1 percent, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to 16,287.49 while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index fell 214.0 points, or 0.9 percent, to 23,363.76.
Automakers fell after many announced drops in July domestic output because of temporary production stoppages last month due to earthquake damage at a key auto parts supplier. A stronger yen may also have hurt auto companies that rely on exports. A stronger yen makes their cars less competitive overseas and reduces their foreign exchange earnings.
Nissan Motor Co. dropped 1.69 percent to 1,107 yen (US$9.54), while Toyota Motor Corp. ended 0.60 percent lower at 6,660 yen (US$57.41).
Consumer finance firms were among the biggest losers of the day, continuing their recent run of declines. Acom Co. fell 2.4 percent to 3,640 yen (US$31.38).
ELSEWHERE:
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi added 1.5% at 1,829.31, after hitting a low of 1,792.07 earlier in the volatile session.
SHANGHAI: China's Shanghai Composite overcame intraday volatility to set another record closing high, its seventh in as many sessions. It ended at 5,194.69, up 0.9%.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index added 0.1% to 8,727.55.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 0.4% to 4,101.07.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 6,176.30.
with files from other wire services
