Asian share markets Friday finished mostly lower following a selloff on Wall Street, with resource stocks pacing the losses on weakness in commodity prices.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index lost 21.75 points, or 0.2%, to 10,142.05.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index, still reeling from consecutive 200-point declines, lost yet another 171.75 points, or 0.8%, to finish a disastrous week at 21,175.88
Over the course of the week, the Hang Seng dropped 3.3% and the Shanghai 300 Composite shed 2.7%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%.
Resources stocks were lower across the region after a sharp fall in metal prices Thursday, although gold retraced some losses in Asian trading hours.
The yellow metal traded at $1,106.80 U.S. a troy ounce in the spot market, up $9.70 from its close in New York, where it fell more than $30 Thursday on the U.S. dollar's strength. Gold tumbled alongside other commodities Thursday, amid increased risk aversion after Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's sovereign risk rating.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan left its policy rate unchanged at 0.1%, as expected. The central bank also left its overall assessment of the economy unchanged and emphasized the need to pull Japan out of deflation
BHP Billiton ended 2% lower and Newcrest Mining gave up 3% in Sydney, while in Tokyo, Inpex dropped 1.9% and Sumitomo Metal Mining fell 3.1%.
Telecommunications major Telstra skidded 3.4% after downgrading its revenue guidance for the year to June 30 to "flattish" from a "low single digit" percentage growth.
Banking stocks declined in Tokyo on profit-taking after recent gains. Mizuho Financial Group dropped 3.2%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gave up 4.9%. The broader Tokyo market was also weighed down by concerns over a stronger yen as the euro and the U.S. dollar dropped against the Japanese currency.
South Korean shares were pulled back by financial stocks amid renewed concerns about global credit markets. KB Financial gave up 3% and Shinhan Financial lost 2.1%. Ssangyong Motor sank 14.9% after a Seoul court accepted a petition to allow the company to push through a turnaround plan.
CHINA
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index skidded 88.42 points, or 2.5%, to 3,391.74
Yunnan Copper shares lost 6% in Shenzhen, while Aluminum Corp. of China sank 8.4% in Shanghai and 3% in Hong Kong. In mainland Chinese markets, sentiment was dented by concerns over tight liquidity.
Elsewhere;
Taiwan’s Taiex index found 11.46 points, or 0.2%, more strength, to 7,753.63
Singapore’s Straits Times index slid 10.68 points, or 0.4%, to 2,802.59
Korea’s Kospi index stumbled 0.8 points to 1,647.04
New Zealand’s NZX Index finished 31.31 points, 1%, higher at 3,154.23
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 19.86 points, or 0.4%, to 4,650.50
