Asian markets ended mixed Monday as losses on Wall Street and worries about monetary tightening in the region weighed on sentiment.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index advanced a slight 6.98 points to 10,205.02.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index reversed course and gained 121.76 points, or 0.6%, to 20,243.75.
Hong Kong shares advanced as investors snapped up Chinese property and power stocks after a string of lower finishes recently. Shares of South Korean auto makers also climbed on hopes they will benefit from vehicle recall woes at Honda Motor and Toyota Motor, though the Japanese car makers declined in Tokyo, capping broad market gains there.
In Tokyo, Honda fell 2.5% after it announced a worldwide recall of 646,000 compact cars to examine window switches that can overheat if exposed to liquid, causing smoke or melting or even catch fire. Toyota dropped 1.2%, still weighed by its massive recalls of vehicles.
But their South Korean rivals rose on expectations of market share gains in the U.S. Hyundai Motor gained 2.7% and Kia Motors surged 5.6%.
In Hong Kong, New World Development jumped 3.9% after a report in the Standard that the developer sold around 80% of the homes at Belcher's Hill in western Hong Kong Island within two days of the launch. Other local property companies also gained. Cheung Kong rose 1.8% and Sino Land advanced 0.5%.
The region's technology shares fell sharply after recent losses on the Nasdaq, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.9% in Seoul, Elpida Memory tumbling 5.8% in Tokyo, Chi Mei Optoelectronics falling 2.6% and Foxconn Technology down 3.2% in Taipei.
Toshiba shrank 6% in Tokyo after Friday's announcement its operating profit of 10.2 billion yen ($113 million U.S.) in the December-ended quarter came in below the firm's internal target of 30 billion yen.
Hynix Semiconductor reversed early declines to finish 1.5% higher on news the company's creditors have extended a deadline for accepting offers for their share in the company.
Banks outperformed in Tokyo, with Mizuho Financial Group rising 1.7% after announcing it swung back to a profit in the October-December quarter due to reduced credit costs and smaller losses from equity holdings.
In Sydney, Aristocrat Leisure surged 11.1% after the slot machine maker forecast annual profit of 116 million Australian dollars ($102 million U.S.) before one-offs, which it said beats analyst expectations.
The market losses came a day before the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy decision, with several economists expecting the central bank to raise its benchmark rate again by a quarter-point to 4%.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro rose against the U.S. dollar and the yen, enjoying a little bounce on bargain hunting after sharp losses last week. The single currency was at $1.3878 U.S. from $1.3866 U.S. in late New York trade Friday, and at 125.52 yen from 125.22 yen.
The dollar was at 90.43 yen from 90.29 yen.
CHINA
China shares pushed lower on continued concerns of further loan restrictions after the state-run Economic Information Daily reported Monday that loans in January hit 1.6 trillion yuan ($234.6 billion U.S).
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index dropped 51.45 points, or 1.6%, to 3,152.71.
Bank of China shrank 1.7% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1%.
The drop in Shanghai came after the release of strong economic data, with HSBC's China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index -- a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity -- rising to a record high of 57.4 in January from 56.1 in December. The data added to concerns of further policy tightening by the central bank in the months ahead.
Elsewhere:
Korea’s Kospi Index was 4.01 points, or 0.3%, higher to 1,606.44
Taiwan’s Taiex index subsided 115.77 points, or 1.5%, to 7,524.67
Singapore’s Straits Times index fell 9.18 points, or 0.3%, to 2,736.17
New Zealand’s NZX Index lost 13.69 points, or 0.4%, to 3,150.97
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 subtracted 45.50 points, or 1%, to 4,524.10.
