Asian markets skidded lower Thursday, with Hong Kong leading the sell-off as traders rushed to protect profits in large-capitalization shares such as China Mobile, while Japan's Nikkei average fell as export-related shares were hurt by the yen's strength against the dollar.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average extended losses in the afternoon session, ending 2 percent lower at 15,771.57 while the Topix index, a broader gauge of Japanese stocks, fell 2.6 percent to 1,516.94.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 948 points lower, off 3.2 percent at 28,760.22, narrowing from a 1,000-plus-point loss earlier in the session while the China Enterprises Index, a gauge of 43 mainly Chinese state-owned companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 4.5 percent to 17,716.86.
Sony Corp. set a weaker tone for export-related stocks, with its shares retreating 3.1 percent after the dollar slumped to the to upper 112-yen level.
Shares of PetroChina fell 7.4 percent, while China's largest offshore oil producer, Cnooc, fell 6.7 percent.
Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings fell 2.2 percent after the company said Thursday it will pay A$2.8 billion ($2.6 billion) to acquire Australian dairy and fruit juice producer National Foods from San Miguel Corp. Shares of fellow brewer Sapporo Holdings climbed 0.9 percent.
Toyota Motor Corp. retreated 4.2 percent on profit taking after reporting Wednesday that second-quarter profit climbed 11 percent from a year earlier.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank, fell 3.2 percent, while Mizuho Financial Group, the country's second-largest by assets, lost 3.4 percent and Resona Holdings retreated 2.1 percent.
ELSEWHERE:
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi index slid 3.1 percent, the downturn coinciding with the Bank of Korea's decision to hold benchmark lending rates steady at 5 percent.
SHANGHAI: China's Shanghai Composite Index was down 3 percent.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times index was closed for a public holiday.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed down 2.6 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price Index shed 3.5 percent.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.5 percent.
with files from other wire services
