Asian shares mixed, Europe debt woes weigh

HONG KONG—Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday as bargain hunting after heavy losses in the previous session was tempered by concerns over China’s economy and ongoing eurozone debt woes.

The euro remained under pressure after Standard & Poor’s outlook downgrade of Italy’s debt while Greece was under pressure over a possible restructuring and regional elections in Spain cast doubts on the government’s future.

Tokyo ended up 0.17 percent, or 16.54 points, to 9,477.17 after falling 1.52 percent Monday, helped by a strong performance from Sony.

Seoul gained 0.29 percent, or 6.05 points, to 2,061.76 following a 2.64 percent loss, while Hong Kong was flat, edging up 19.76 points to 22,730.78 after a 2.11 percent fall.

However, Sydney fell 0.31 percent, or 14.2 points, to 4,628.8 and Shanghai gave up 0.27 percent, or 7.51 points, to end at 2,767.06.

On Wall Street the Dow slipped 1.05 percent, the broader S&P 500 shed 1.19 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.58 percent.

“Global shares are facing a downward adjustment on the back of deepening European debt concerns,” Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities, said.

The Italian outlook downgrade at the weekend raised fears that the stronger peripheral states in the euro bloc could face the same fate as Greece, Portugal and Ireland in needing a bailout.

S&P’s downgrade from “stable” to “negative” came on concerns over the country’s weak growth prospects. The move came just after Fitch said it had cut Greece’s debt rating.

The possibility Greece might move to restructure its debt was causing real concern, dealers said, as it showed divisions between politicians who appear ready to accept the move and the European Central Bank, which is opposed to it.

Athens has, meanwhile, announced it would immediately begin selling off state assets in a bid to reduce its massive debt and this at least initially appeared to help steady the euro.

In Spain the Socialist government was handed a drubbing in local elections, raising worries over Madrid’s ability to deal effectively with its economy amid calls for national polls.

The euro gained slightly to $1.4076 in afternoon Tokyo trade from 1.4047 late Monday in New York, although it remains weak after falling below $1.40 overnight for the first time since March.

The euro fell to 114.97 yen from 115.23 yen.

The dollar fetched 81.69 yen in Tokyo morning trade, down from 81.96 in New York.

“A series of bad news prompted investors to shun the euro amid rekindled worries about deep-rooted debt problems,” said Teppei Ino, analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

“While selling of the euro calmed somewhat in Tokyo trading hours, the unit is seen to stay under pressure.”

Hong Kong and Shanghai extended Monday’s poor performance after HSBC released preliminary manufacturing data suggesting China’s economy was slowing down.

In Tokyo Sony, which is reeling from Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami and a massive online hacking attack, provided support to the broader market as it rose 2.7 percent at 2,270 yen.

The gain came despite saying after the market close Monday it expected to post a $3.2 billion net loss for the fiscal year ended March.

“Investors are relieved that the pre-released earnings numbers weren’t as catastrophic as expected,” Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager of research at Chibagin Asset Management, told Dow Jones Newswires.

After Tuesday’s market close, the company revealed its websites in three countries had been breached, with 8,500 user accounts in Greece compromised, although no credit card details were thought to have been taken.

On oil markets New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, gained 77 cents to $98.47 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for July delivery rose 72 cents to $110.82 in the afternoon.

Gold closed in Hong Kong at $1,519-$1,520 per ounce, up from Monday’s close of $1,509 -$1,510.

In other markets:

— Taipei gained 0.10 percent, or 9.10 points, to 8,756.61.

Hon Hai Precision, the parent of technology giant Foxconn, gained 3 percent to Tw$103.0, offsetting a 2.91 percent loss the previous session in the wake of a blast at a Foxconn factory in China.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.4 percent higher at Tw$74.8.

— Manila fell 0.85 percent, or 36.11 points, to 4,227.08.

Alliance Global shed 3.7 percent to 10.78 pesos and Lepanto Mining fell 5.8 percent to 80 centavos, while DMCI Holdings was off 3.8 percent at 40.40 pesos.

— Wellington closed up 0.15 percent, or 5.42 points, at 3,559.55.

Telecom soared 6.8 percent to NZ$2.435 after the government said the firm was to build 70 percent of the nationwide fibre network, a broker said. But Fletcher Building fell 1.3 percent to NZ$9.01.

— Jakarta rose 7.49 points or 0.20 percent to 3,785.94.

Bank Danamon gained 0.9 percent to 5,900 rupiah, while telecommunication company Indosat rose 1.9 percent to 5,300 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur ended up 0.21 percent, or 3.14 points, to close at 1,532.12.

Real estate developer UEM Land Holdings gained 2.6 percent to 2.81 ringgit, while telecommunication company Telekom Malaysia rose 2.2 percent to 3.80. Gaming giant Genting Bhd dipped 0.7 percent to 10.98.

— Singapore closed 0.08 percent, or 2.61 points, higher at 3,113.09.

SembCorp Industries rose 0.80 percent to Sg$5.04 and DBS Bank gained 0.83 percent to Sg$14.62.

— Bangkok edged up 0.97 percent, or 10.27 points, to 1,064.24.

Banpu gained 6 baht to 724, while Siam Cement added 1 baht to 352.

— Mumbai edged up 0.1 percent, or 18.64 points, to 18,011.97.

India’s engineering giant Larsen and Toubro rose 1.75 percent, or 28.25 rupees, to 1,641.1.

India’s top property firm D B Realty plunged 8.41 percent, or 6.35 rupees, to 69.15 ahead of its full-year earnings next week while rival DLF fell 1.84 percent, or 4.1 rupees, to 218.95.