Asian share markets ended mixed Friday after a volatile session where resource-linked stocks broadly retraced some recent gains after an overnight fall in commodity prices and a pullback on Wall Street.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell back 34.18 points, or 0.4%, to 9,770.31.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 156.06 points, or 0.7%, to 22,553.63.
The fall in Tokyo came on thin trading volumes and the lack of momentum due to reduced foreign investor activity in the market, said Tachibana Securities analyst Kenichi Hirano.
"They are not necessarily selling much, but it's just that Japanese stocks are not so attractive any more, compared to other emerging Asian markets," Hirano said. Flush "liquidity may be giving (foreign investors) new money, but they'd rather put it into Chinese and Indian stocks."
Among commodity-linked shares, BHP Billiton dropped 1.4% and Newcrest Mining lost 2.8% in Sydney, with commodities trader Marubeni falling 2.1% and Inpex slipping 0.1% in Tokyo.
But some resource stocks recovered in line with the late recovery in commodity prices.
Among them, Cnooc rose 1% in Hong Kong, while Aluminum Corp. of China rose 3.7% and PetroChina Co. added 0.2% in Shanghai
National Australia Bank fell 1.6% as the stock went ex-dividend.
Defensive stocks found some support as stocks in cyclical sectors came under pressure, with Telstra up 0.6% and Woolworths gaining 0.1%.
The Korean stock market was weighed down by exporter stocks, following Wal-Mart's tepid fourth-quarter forecast, which raised concerns for year-end sales. Samsung Electronics dropped 0.8% and Hyundai Motor lost 1%.
The Hong Kong market was led higher by heavyweight HSBC Holdings, which climbed 1.8%, resuming the uptrend following its third-quarter update earlier in the week.
CHINA
The Chinese market was lifted by sharp gains in foreign-currency-denominated B shares amid expectations that the country may allow the yuan to rise against the U.S. dollar.
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index gained 18.73 points to 3,518.72.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan’s Taiex index slid 5.30 points to 7,665.63
Singapore’s Straits Times index was up 0.99 points to 2,727.23
Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.74 points to 1,571.99
New Zealand’s NZX Index finished 13.94 points, or 0.4%, lower, to 3,158.14
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 41.50 points, or 0.9%, to 4,706.40
