Asian shares mixed, Tokyo hit by GDP data

HONG KONG—Asian markets were mixed Thursday with Tokyo slipping after data showed Japan’s economy was hit harder than expected by the March 11 earthquake.

Tokyo ended 0.43 percent, or 41.26 points, lower at 9,620.82 on news that the economy shrank 3.7 percent year on year in January-March, the second consecutive quarter of contraction that puts the country in a technical recession.

The contraction was sharper than an average market forecast for a drop of around two percent.

“The Japanese economy is expected to remain weak for the time being,” Economy Minister Kauro Yosano told reporters, adding that a third straight contraction in April-June was likely.

Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, told Dow Jones Newswires: “The market was expecting a V-shaped recovery, but today’s GDP numbers are raising doubts that we will get out of the slump anytime soon.”

However, the Nikkei’s losses were softened by a weaker yen and rising commodity prices.

And Hisatsune Kobayashi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities, said: “On the other hand, we are seeing faster-than-expected resumption of production by Nissan Motor, Toyota Motor and Renesas Electronics.”

Hong Kong ended 0.66 percent, or 152.24 points, higher at 23,163.38 and Sydney added 1.34 percent, or 62.7 points, to end at 4,756.4.

But Seoul dived 1.89 percent, or 40.27 points, to 2,095.51 and Shanghai fell 0.46 percent, or 13.20 points, to 2,859.57.

Analysts said stock and currency markets gave little reaction to the resignation of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who has been held in New York on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, claims he denies.

On Wall Street the Dow finished 0.65 percent higher after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy setting committee revealed it is in discussions about how to bring to an end its $600 billion bond-purchasing scheme, otherwise known as quantitative easing.

The US market was also boosted by computer giant Dell, which beat expectations by nearly tripling first-quarter profit from a year ago to $945 million.

Oil eased slightly in the afternoon after earlier gains. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, dipped 26 cents to $99.84 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery lost 16 cents to $112.14.

On money markets the dollar bought 81.66 yen in Tokyo morning trade, after topping 81.80 yen earlier in the day. The dollar traded at 81.64 yen in New York late Wednesday.

The euro fetched $1.4260 in the morning, up from $1.4236. Against the yen, the euro traded at 116.45 yen compared with 116.38 yen in New York.

The euro continued to be strained as officials tried to hammer out a deal to help Greece solve its debt problems.

Gold closed at $1,490-$1,491 per ounce, down from its Wednesday’s close of $1,493-$1,494.

In other markets:

— Singapore closed 1 percent, or 31.35 points, higher at 3,172.56.

Casino player Genting Singapore was unchanged at Sg$2.07 and Singapore Telecom advanced 1.92 percent to Sg$3.19.

— Taipei ended 0.58 percent, or 51.96 points, lower at 8,892.88.

Hon Hai fell 1.89 percent to Tw$104.0 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was 0.13 percent lower at Tw$75.2.

— Manila closed 0.13 percent, or 5.38 points, lower at 4,297.93.

Lepanto Mining fell 2.3 percent to 86 centavos and port operator ICTSI shed 1.3 percent to 50 pesos. Banco de Oro rose 0.5 percent to 58.95 pesos and Metropolitan Bank was up 0.6 percent at 70.70 pesos.

— Wellington closed flat, edging up 0.04 points to 3,559.59.

Fletcher Building rose 1.2 percent to NZ$9.11, Air New Zealand slipped 0.9 percent to NZ$1.11 and Telecom Corp. fell 1.9 percent to NZ$2.33.

— Jakarta gained 0.51 percent, or 19.60 points, to 3,859.81.

— Kuala Lumpur ended up 0.17 percent, or 2.75 points, at 1,544.02.

National power company Tenaga climbed 2.1 percent to 6.28 ringgit as gaming giant Genting Malaysia rose 2.0 percent to 3.32 while Public Bank slipped 1.1 percent to 17.30 ringgit.

— Bangkok edged up 0.15 percent, or 1.59 points, to close at 1,077.50.

Banpu added 10 baht to 728 and PTT Plc gained 4 baht to 366.

— Mumbai rose 0.31 percent on bargain hunting, snapping three straight days of losses, as the benchmark Sensex index on the Bombay Stock Exchange closed up 55.2 points at 18,141.4.

Buying was seen in index heavyweights, but inflation at 8.66 percent and fuel price concerns continue to weigh on the market.

Engineering firm Larsen and Toubro rose 5.92 percent, or 89.15 rupees, to 1,594.9 after showing a 17 percent rise in quarterly net profit of 16.86 billion rupees ($374 million), beating estimates, on faster project executions.

India’s largest private firm and energy giant Reliance Industries rose 1.45 percent, or 13.1 rupees, to 914.9, on bargain hunting.