Asian share markets ended mixed Monday, with a bankruptcy filing by Japanese non-bank lender SFCG souring sentiment in Tokyo, but news that the U.S. may secure the future of Citigroup lifting many markets off their early lows.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Citigroup is in talks that could result in the U.S. government substantially expanding its ownership of the bank, potentially to a 40% stake.
The news sent Dow Jones Industrial Average futures up 118 points in screen trade and bolstered the euro against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen.
In Tokyo trading, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Average still ended down Monday by 40.22 points, or 0.5%, at 7,376.16
Investor sentiment was fickle, with confirmation that Citigroup might require government intervention also serving to highlight how hard banks have been hit by the global financial and economic crisis.
Japan non-bank lenders were hurt by the SFCG news, with Takefuji Corp. down 15.9% and Orix Corp. down 13.5%, while SFCG Co. tumbled 15.5%, on top of its 49% slump over the previous nine sessions.
Big banks ended lower but lifted off their early declines on the Citigroup report.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ended 0.5% lower and Mizuho Financial Group dropped 1.1%.
Tokyo-listed shares of Citigroup ended down 3.8% after plunging more than 17% earlier in the day.
Toshiba shed 6.5% after the company said Friday it was considering a capital increase. It is staring down at a 280 billion yen net loss for this fiscal year.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 3.8%, or 475.93 points, to 13,175.10. HSBC Holdings rose 0.9%, bouncing off the day's early lows.
Gold miners gained in Sydney after the precious metal rose Friday past the $1,000 troy-ounce level. April gold futures were recently down $13.30 to $988.90 U.S. an ounce, after rising $25.70 to $1,002.20 an ounce in New York. Lihir Gold added 0.9%.
Other miners didn't do as well, with BHP Billiton down 3.9% as investors sold after qualifying for a dividend payable to those on the holder register as of the end of last week.
CHINA
China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.8% or 66.16 to 2,410.48. Among Chinese banks, China Construction Bank jumped 5.3% and China Life Insurance rallied 5.2%
Rio Tinto dropped 6.8% on concerns some shareholders could oppose a recent investment announced in the Anglo-Australian company by Aluminum Corp. of China.
Bluescope Steel tumbled 10.9% after it warned it may post an underlying loss for this half because of the global economic downturn.
Shares of debutante Real Gold Mining advanced nearly 14% on their listing in an upbeat Hong Kong market, before giving up all those gains. The shares ended at HK$6.25 ($0.80 U.S.), unchanged from their initial public offering price. More than 108 million shares changed hands.
Fairfax Media dropped 3.3% in Sydney after it booked a first-half net loss of A$365.3 million ($237 million U.S.) as it joined many of its international peers in writing down the value of assets, including its mastheads.
Technology and financial stocks found some interest in South Korea after recent large losses, with KB Financial Group ending up 4%, LG Display Co. gaining 5.1% and Hynix Semiconductor jumping 11.8%.
Taiwan shares were supported by suspected buying from government-linked funds, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. adding 2.5% and MediaTek Inc. climbing 3.7% in the technology sector.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 35.75 points, or 2.2%, to 1,630.39
Taiwan’s Taiex Index was ahead 40.84 points or 0.9%, to 4,477.78
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 33.60 points or 3.2% to 1,099.55
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slid another 38.39, or 1.5%, to 2,538.29
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 51.2 points or 1.5% to 3,351.20
