Chinese shares dropped sharply Friday, extending their losing streak for a fourth straight week as reports of weak bank lending in August and concerns about fundraising hit stocks across the broad.
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index sank another 109.52 points, or 3.5%, to 3,046.78.
Banking shares were also pressured by reports that lending by mainland banks continued to slump in August, after suffering a sharp decline in July following record disbursals in the first half of the year.
Shares of Bank of China lost 1.8%, China Construction Bank fell 2.3% and China Merchants Bank shrank 3.4% in Shanghai. There was another deal between Chinese and Australian companies in the resources space, as Aquila Resources agreed to sell a 15% stake to Chinese steel major Baosteel Group for up to 285.6 million Australian dollars ($240 million U.S.).
Aquila shares surged 9.2%, though Baoshan Iron & Steel, the listed member of the Baosteel group, fell 3.8% in a downbeat Shanghai market
The performance also dragged on Hong Kong -- where the Hang Seng index shed another 144.13 points, or 0.7%, to 20,098.62 -- and capped gains for other Asian markets.
In Hong Kong, China Construction fell 1% and China Merchants gave up 1.5%, though Bank of China ended flat, supported by the lender's better-than-expected half-yearly results Thursday.
Japanese shares ranked among gainers, helped by a weakened yen and an overnight rise on Wall Street, though trading was cautious heading into Sunday's Lower House elections that were widely expected to bring the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to power.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo regained 60.17 points, or 0.6%, to close out the week at 10,534.14.
Shares of Casio Computer jumped 8.5% in heavy trading volumes on news the company is in talks with Hitachi and NEC Corp. to combine their mobile handsets operations. Hitachi stock climbed 1.6%, while NEC Corp. added 0.6%.
In Tokyo trading, shares of All Nippon Airways ended 2.1% higher, after Boeing said it would make its inaugural test flight for the 787 Dreamliner at the end of the year and deliver its first plane at the end of 2010. Analysts said this eased some uncertainty about the timeline for the Dreamliners.
Ahead of the Japanese vote on Sunday, the market "appears to be expecting a more realistic and responsible approach to the handling of public finances, as there will presumably be less of a need to pander to various constituents," said Barclays Capital chief strategist Chotaro Morita.
Whether or not Japan's opposition DPJ [if it wins the elections as expected] can materialize "smooth formulation of supportive policy" and "realistic management of public finances" may not be immediately evident from poll results, though that should start to be discounted around Sep. 14, when the new administration is formed, added Morita.
Shares of Toll Holdings rose 2.9% in Sydney after the Australian Financial Review said logistics company Brambles was approached by Credit Suisse with a proposal involving Brambles' purchase of Toll. Brambles ended down 0.1%.
Sims Metal Management dropped 2.3% and Caltex Australia dropped 5.9% after the two announced dividend cuts.
Technology shares gained in Taipei, after Dell said its quarterly profit fell 23% as it continued to be squeezed by depressed corporate spending and plunging PC prices, but executives said they were seeing signs the PC industry was beginning to recover.
Quanta Computer rose 2.7% and Compal Electronics added 2.2%, while Acer gained 3.5%, also helped by a second-quarter performance that was in line with expectations.
In Hong Kong, BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) jumped 5.8% after better-than-expected first-half results.
Front-month Nymex crude futures rose 36 cents to $72.85 U.S. a barrel on Globex recently, helping energy producers across most of the region.
In foreign-exchange markets the euro was at 134.89 yen from 134.22 yen in New York, and at $1.4351 U.S., from $1.4362 U.S. The U.S. dollar was at 93.98 yen, from 93.50 yen. Traders in Tokyo said Japanese importers were buying both the U.S. dollar and the euro against the yen.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index tacked on 0.57 points, to 2,642.80
South Korea’s Kospi index picked up 8.61 points, or 0.5%, to 1,607.94
Taiwan’s Taiex moved higher by 119.11 points, or 1.8%, to 6,809.86
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 32.93 points, or 1.1%, to 3,109.34
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 regained 38.80 points, to 4,489.60.
