Asian markets ended with slight losses Thursday after ECB loans to euro-zone banks failed to ease fears over Europe’s debt crisis.
The Nikkei closed down 0.8% ahead of a three-day weekend in Japan beginning Friday. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng both lost 0.2% each. But the Sensex closed up 0.7% as it reversed losses after European markets opened on a positive note. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries fell 1.1%.
Euro-area banks took 490 billion euros of three-year ECB loans yesterday but the markets remained worried over how much of the funds will actually flow into struggling European countries.
Volumes remained thin ahead of Christmas holidays.
Stocks on the Move
Elpida Memory rose over 6% initially but pared gains and finally ended up 0.3%. Earlier in the day, a report that Elpida may begin merger talks next month with Taiwan's Nanya Technology Corp. was denied by Nanya’s chairman.
Elpida also said earlier today it is in discussions with banks to secure fresh working capital.
Tokyo Electric Power was up 5.2% after it said it plans to raise electricity rates for corporate customers from April. Tepco shares fell nearly 10% the previous session.
Toyota Motor backed down 0.6% on a report that said the world’s largest auto-maker by sales looks set to be knocked off its perch after the company estimated global sales to fall 6% in calendar 2011 to 7.90 million vehicles due to natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.
But the company also said it expects to rebound strongly next year.
Tech shares were pressured from the start of the session after disappointing earnings from Oracle overnight. Advantest fell 4.5%, also affected by a broker downgrade while Kyocera Corp. fell 3%.
Industrial robots maker Fanuc, a heavily weighted Nikkei component was also a drag on the index as it fell 3.4%.
Alibaba.com rose 0.3% in Hong Kong while Yahoo Japan Corp. gained 2.1% in Tokyo on reports that Yahoo may sell most of its stake in both the Asian firms.
Among banks in Hong Kong, HSBC, Europe’s largest lender, ended down 0.3% but Standard Chartered gained 0.2%. ICBC was up 0.6% while AgBank and Bank of China both ended flat. China Construction Bank Corp. declined 0.2%.
Exporters and shipping companies were among the worst performers. Li & Fung dropped 3.2% while Belle International Holdings gave up 1.4%. Europe-focused Hutchison Whampoa fell about 1.5% initially, but pared losses and closed down 0.2%.
Resources were also mostly lower after notching gains the prior session. CNOOC slipped 1.2% and PetroChina was down 0.6%.
Another index heavyweight, China Mobile, fell 0.3%.
In Mumbai, DLF was the top gainer, up 5.2%, followed by Tata Motors, up 3.7%. SBI, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Jaiprakash, Tata Power, BHEL, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever all declined in a range between 1.7% and 2.7%.
Stocks were also helped by the food inflation rate which rose at its slowest pace in nearly four years, at 1.81% in the week to December 10, compared with 4.35% in the week before.
But tech stocks all lost ground, hit by disappointing earnings from Oracle and a proposed piece of legislation in the U.S. that seeks to curtail outsourcing to destinations like India.
Retail stocks were pummeled in Sydney after adventure-wear outlet Kathmandu Holdings became the latest retailer to warn of lower-than-expected Christmas sales. It added that first-half earnings were also likely to be lower than the previous year’s. Kathmandu shares plunged 25.5%.
Billabong was sharply down again as it fell 8.7%. Myer Holdings dropped 6.2% while David Jones slipped 3.5%.
However, resources were among the biggest losers with index leader BHP Billiton down 1.4% and fellow miner Rio Tinto 1.8% lower. BHP Billiton launched legal action against the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
OneSteel was up 10.3% after it said it would cut its exposure to the struggling steel market by selling one of its Australian units for $100 million.
Rail operator QR National, Australia's largest rail freight company, lost 2.3% despite an announcement it had struck a 10-year coal haulage deal with Rio Tinto.
In economic news, Australia's top level triple-A credit rating was reaffirmed by ratings agency Moody's.
