Asian markets ended mixed on Friday, with bargain-buyers snapping up Mumbai shares as well as Chinese stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 84.25 points or 0.7% at 12,803.70 while the benchmark Hang Seng index closed up 139.47 points or 0.6% at 21,874.19.
On the economic front, minutes of the Bank of Japan's June meeting noted policy makers as saying that slowing growth is more of a concern than accelerating inflation. Japanese bonds rose for the first time in three days following the release of the minutes.
Japan's nationwide department store sales continued to decline for the fourth straight month in June as households reduced their spending. According to data released by the Japan Department Stores Association, sales declined 7.6% on year in June, significantly faster than a 2.7% fall seen in May. The association said in its report that adverse weather conditions hurt sales of summer-related products, especially clothing.
Commodity related issues fell after crude oil dropped more than $15 over the past three sessions. Inpex Holdings plunged 3.4%, Mitsubishi Corp fell 2.5% and Sumitomo Metal Mining lost 2.0%. Nippon Mining Holdings dropped 0.3% and Nippon Oil gave away 0.8%.
In the financial sector, Mizuho Financial Group declined 0.6% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group slipped 0.4%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group edged up 0.1%. Orix shed 2.2%, but non-life insurer Sompo Japan Insurance added 0.5%. Nomura Holdings rose 0.2% following a report that the brokerage is planning to set up full-scale operations in India.
Among exporters, Sony plunged 1.8% and Canon and Toyota Motor dropped 0.6% each, while Honda Motor gained 0.6% and Komatsu climbed 0.7%.
In the tech space, NEC lost 0.7%, Fanuc fell 1.4%, Fujitsu plunged 2.2%, Tokyo Electron eased 1.8% and Advantest gave away 1.7%.
Osaka Gas advanced 1.4% after the company said that it is in talks with Chevron and other companies to buy a stake in a liquefied natural gas project in Australia to lock in long-term supplies.
The Shanghai Composite soared 3.5% to 2,778.37, with strong buying toward the close, as investors snapped up beaten-down shares after three straight days of declines.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Weighted Index gave up 2.3% to 6,815.32.
South Korea's Kospi lost 1% to 1,509.99.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index gained 1% to 3,120.91.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2% to 4,840.40, dragged down by energy producers such as BHP Billiton Ltd., in reaction to the overnight drop in crude prices.
with files from other wire services
