Most Asian markets declined Friday, with Japanese shares pulling back as Sony Corp.'s poor earnings outlook and the euro's weakness against the yen damped sentiment toward exporters.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 backslid 158.04 points, or 1.5%, to 10,462.51
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell back 277.03 points, or 1.4%, to 20,145.43
Traders said investors also appear to be worried about the potential drag on growth in the euro-zone as governments in the region take measures to bring swelling fiscal deficits under control.
Sony slumped 6.8% in Tokyo, accompanied by heavy trading volumes. The electronics giant Thursday disappointed with its outlook for the year ending March 2011. The company forecast a net profit of 50 billion yen ($549 million U.S.), which fell way short of the 100 billion yen or more projected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Other exporters also declined after the yen strengthened against the euro. Nikon Corp. dropped 2.9% and Nintendo Co. gave up 3%, while Mazda Motor Corp. lost 1.9%.
Bucking the market, Pioneer surged 9% after the company reported a much narrower net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, and said it expected its first net profit in seven years for the current fiscal year ending March 2011.
Energy stocks were generally lower across the region as crude-oil prices stayed below $74 a barrel. Cnooc dropped 2.1% in Hong Kong, Inpex Corp. dropped 2.5% in Tokyo, Oil Search declined 0.5% in Sydney.
Health-care stocks rose in Sydney after Healthscope said it had received a 5.50 Australian dollars-a-share ($4.95 U.S.) takeover offer from a private equity consortium, valuing the company at 1.74 billion Australian dollars.
The Australian private hospital and pathology operator said it had not yet formed a view on the proposal and recommended shareholders take no immediate action. Healthscope shares jumped 17.5% to A$5.40. Among its peers, Primary Health Care gained 1.7% and Sonic Healthcare rose 1.2%.
The South Korean market was led lower by financials, with Kim Seung-han at HI Investment & Securities saying that the widening probe by U.S. regulators into Wall Street banks' roles in mortgage-bond deals was weighing on sentiment and risk appetite. KB Financial fell 1.2% and Shinhan Financial lost 1%.
But Posco gained 1.5% after Yonhap news agency reported that the company has been named as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in Daewoo International Corp.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro was buying $1.2515 from $1.2531 U.S. late in New York Thursday, and 116.01 yen from 116.13 yen. The dollar was at 92.70 yen, compared with 92.68 yen.
CHINA
In Shanghai, shares declined amid concerns over a great supply of shares, after the state-run China Securities News reported that the China Securities Regulatory Commission has not halted the approval process for initial public offerings.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 took off 18.89 points, or 0.7%, to 2,868.02.
Ping An Insurance fell 2.2% and Baoshan Iron & Steel gave up 0.5%, while Air China lost 2%.
Elsewhere;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stumbled 12.71 points, or 0.4%, to 2,855.21
Korea’s Kospi index improved 1.05 points to 1,695.63
Taiwan’s Taiex index grew 1.56 points to 7,772.13
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index dropped 4.80 points, or 0.2%, to 3,191.01
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave back 41.30 points, or 0.9%, to 4,611.10
