Asian shares down, Tokyo eyes weekend poll

HONG KONG – Asian shares fell on Friday, with profit-takers moving in at the end of a positive week, while dealers in Japan keep an eye on weekend parliamentary elections.

The losses came despite another record-breaking close for the Dow and S&P 500 on Wall Street, while the dollar gave up the advances made against the yen in US trade.

Tokyo fell 1.48 percent, or 218.59 points, to 14,589.91, while Sydney lost 0.43 percent, or 21.3 points, to end at 4,972.1 and Seoul slipped 0.22 percent, or 4.07 points, to 1,871.41.

In the afternoon Hong Kong edged down 0.10 percent and Shanghai tumbled 1.41 percent.

Global equities rose this week after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke told lawmakers in Washington that the bank’s $85 billion-a-month bond-buying scheme would be kept in place as long as the economy needed it.

“Bernanke’s testimony has reassured the markets that a relatively low interest rate environment will remain in place for the time being,” SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi said.

On Wall Street, the Dow rose 0.50 percent and the S&P 500 ended 0.50 percent higher thanks to another batch of impressive earnings reports from corporate America. Bernanke’s assurances over the stimulus also provided strong support.

However, with few new trading cues most markets drifted lower as dealers wound up for the weekend.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei plummeted primarily on futures selling in anticipation of a victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party in Sunday’s vote.

“Foreign investors are the most common buyers of futures and had been picking them up over the last 10 days or so in anticipation of the Sunday Upper House Diet elections,” Tachibana Securities market advisor Kenichi Hirano said

“It’s very possible that with an overheated and thin-volume market, they are testing to see how far the Nikkei could fall,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Analysts said the index was due for a slight correction as it has risen almost 20 percent since the middle of last month, thanks to easing concerns about the Fed’s stimulus while the yen resumes its downward trend against the dollar.

On forex markets, the dollar bought 100.06 yen in early trade, compared with 100.50 yen late in New York.

The euro bought $1.3132, compared with $1.3112 yen while sitting at 131.34 yen from 131.77 yen.

Oil prices were slightly higher. New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August, rose one cent to $108.05 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for September was up seven cents at $108.77.

Gold cost $1,290.64 per ounce at 0650 GMT, compared with $1,281.20 late Thursday.