Asian markets ended mixed Friday after struggling to find direction, with JFE Holdings leading steelmakers down in Japan after announcing a decline in earnings, while a stronger yen hurt exporters.
Hong Kong stocks ended with small gains after moving in both directions. Software and telecommunication shares were pushing the Indian market toward its seventh straight weekly advance.
The Nikkei 225 Index gave back 139.02 points Friday, or 1.6%, to end the week at 8,707.99
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 44.39 points, or 0.3%, to close the week at 15,258.85
In Tokyo, shares of JFE Holdings fell 3.1% after reporting a 26% drop in net profit for the year ended March 31, and withheld its earnings forecast for the year because of volatile business environment. It also dragged down other steelmakers, with Nippon Steel down 4.2% and Sumitomo Metal Industries slumping 5.2%.
Exporters were also beaten down on the yen's strength, with Toyota Motor dropping 2.1% and Canon down 2.7%.
NEC Electronics surged 10.6%, though, after the Nikkei reported the firm and Renesas Technology had struck a basic agreement to merge.
Property shares helped tip the market higher in Hong Kong, with Sun Hung Kai Properties rising 1.4% and Cheung Kong (Holdings) gaining 2.3% amid expectations of a recovery in demand for homes. Shares of China Huiyuan Juice Group soared 13.4% on reports Coca-Cola Co. has reopened talks to take a minority stake in the juice maker.
Chip makers dragged the market lower in Seoul after Samsung Electronics reported a 72% sharp drop in first-quarter profit and Hynix posted its sixth-straight quarterly net loss. Hynix ended down 4.7%, while Samsung skidded 5.6%.
The broad-market decline came in spite of a growth of 0.1% in South Korea's first-quarter GDP from the previous quarter, after a 5.1% plunge in the fourth quarter of last year.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analysts said the positive growth was because of government spending and a bounce-back in private consumption.
In Sydney, Rio Tinto gained 2.2% and BHP Billiton fell 1.3% on market speculation of a friendly deal between the mining giants, after the Age reported Thursday that Rio's chairman met his BHP counterpart.
In foreign currency markets, the Japanese yen was gaining on risk aversion ahead of the weekend. The dollar was recently at 96.97 yen from 97.92 yen late in New York. The euro was at 128.47 yen from 128.69 yen, and at $1.3244 U.S. from $1.3140 U.S.
CHINA
Financials declined in Shanghai on speculation the banking regulator might tighten lending norms after a surge in loans in the first quarter. Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.2% and Bank of Communications dropped 1.2%.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai 300 Composite Index lost 20.68 points, to 2,572.89
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 7.13 points, or 0.4% to 1,852.85
South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index settled back 14.70, or 1.1% at 1,354.10
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 5.53 points, or 0.1%, to 5,880.77
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 2.46 points, or 0.1% to 2,656.38
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 30.70 points, or 0.8% at 3,712.30
