Asian stocks ended weaker Wednesday, with markets in Japan and Sydney tilting lower as energy stocks retreated after crude-oil prices slipped below $60 a barrel.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 113.8 points or 1.3% to end at 8,695.5 while the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 101.8 points or 0.7% at 13,939.1.
On the economic front, the Cabinet Office said that consumer confidence index dropped to 29.4 in October, its lowest level since the government began compiling the figures in 1982, from 31.4 in September.
Among exporters, Canon fell 3.5%, Honda Motor shed 4.2%, machinery maker Komatsu lost 1.3%, Sony tumbled 4.0%, and Toyota Motor plunged 8.2%.
Commodity-related stocks fell as oil prices tumbled to their lowest levels in twenty months. Oil and gas miner Inpex plummeted 5.4% after the company cut its full-year outlook, while Mitsubishi Corp plunged 8.1% and Mitsui & Co gave away 4.6%. Nippon Mining Holdings sank 9.5% after Shanghai copper futures fell to their weakest in almost four years on Wednesday. Hakudo slumped 10.5% after the specialist trader for nonferrous metals cut its annual outlook.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ declined 2.8%, Mizuho Financial lost 2.5%, and Sumitomo Mitsui dropped 3.9%.
Bucking the overall market trend, Mitsubishi Rayon surged 11.4% after the maker of synthetic fibers and other chemicals said that it would acquire unlisted British chemicals producer Lucite International for $1.6 billion in cash.
JFE Steel Corp. said Tuesday that it might cancel or suspend two projects to build integrated steel mills in Brazil and Vietnam, worth a combined $10 billion-$12 billion, if demand continued to remain weak. The stock of its parent company JFE Holdings fell 2.1%.
CHINA
The Chinese stock market closed higher, despite weakness among the stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region, as property developers continued to rally on the back of the government's economic stimulus package. Financial stocks also posted gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% or 15.5 points to end the session at 1,859.1. The key index has tumbled 70% since it peaked in October 2007.
Among property developers, China Vanke and COFCO Property gained 2.1%, and Gemdale jumped 5.9%. Cement producers surged for the sixth day on expectations the industry will benefit from stimulus-package spending on construction of airports, highways and other government projects. Fujian Cement and Hebei Taihang Cement jumped daily limit of 10%.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 0.5%, Bank of China gained 0.3%, and Pudong Development Bank jumped 2.6%. Citic Securities surged up 4.3% and Hong Yuan Securities soared 9.3%. China Life Insurance advanced 1.5%, but its smaller rival Ping An Insurance lost 1.1%.
Index heavyweight PetroChina slipped 0.3% after the price of crude tumbled below $60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 0.5% at 4,615.
Singapore's STI closed down 1.3% at 1,784.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index closed down 0.7% at 1,326.
Malaysia's KLCI closed down 4.3 points at 890.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 3,927.30.
New Zealand's NZX-50 index fell 1% to 2,772.19.
South Korea's Composite Index, or Kospi, failed to hold earlier gains, slipping 0.4% at 1,123.86.
with files from other wire services
