Asian shares closed mostly lower Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average losing ground on weakness in export stocks such as Sony Corp., while Australia's benchmark index shrugged off a weaker start to edge into positive territory as energy shares such as Santos Ltd. rallied amid record oil prices.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.1 percent to 13,943.3. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent to 25,449.8.
Chinese stocks, though, rose on late-session bargain-hunting. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.2 percent to 3,656.8, after dropping 4.1 percent on Wednesday.
Among losers in Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 3.7 percent and Mizuho Financial Group fell 5.2 percent.
Shares in Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. declined 1.8 percent. Just as trading wound up, the company said its profit for the fiscal fourth quarter dropped 28 percent from the previous year on the strong yen and lagging North American sales.
In China, investors optimistic about the country's economic outlook opted to seek bargains among blue chips after they fell sharply in the previous session, analysts said.
China Life Insurance rose 2.1 percent after falling 8.0 percent on Wednesday. Baoshan Iron & Steel gained 2.9 percent after losing 6.2 percent a day earlier. China Shenhua Energy climbed 6.3 percent after falling 3.3 percent in the previous session.
Elsewhere:
Australia's S&P ASX 200 reversed a 0.9% slide in the morning session to end 1% higher.
Australian employment growth exceeded expectations in April, with a net 25,400 jobs created, marking the 18th straight month of gains, according to data released by the Bureau of statistics Thursday. Consensus estimates were for 10,000 new jobs in April.
The nation's jobless rate climbed to 4.2% from 4.1% in March, driven by a rise in labor market participation.
with files from other wire services
