Asian markets were sharply down Thursday, tracking losses in Wall Street equities overnight on continued concerns over the European Union and after less than expected gains in November import prices in the U.S. added to the pressure on the markets.
The Nikkei closed down 1.7%. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.1% while the Hang Seng dropped 1.8%. The Sensex was down 0.4% while in Sydney the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries gave up 1.2%.
Earlier today, Chinese data added to the disappointment as HSBC’s China Purchasing Managers’ Index showed the level of activity at mainland Chinese factories contracted further in December.
Also earlier today, the Bank of Japan’s key tankan quarterly survey of business sentiment showed a sharper-than-expected deterioration in conditions for larger manufacturers.
In Europe, Italian bonds surged to a record high Wednesday, highlighting fears over the region’s debt situation.
Stocks on the Move
Olympus Corp plunged almost 20.8% after the scandal-hit firm yesterday restated earnings and avoided the immediate threat of a forced delisting. However, it showed a $1.3 billion dent on its balance sheet that prompted a downgrade of its debt to just above junk status.
Japanese manufacturers weakened with Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery both down about 4.2% each.
Commodity stocks were among the worst performer in the region as Inpex Corp. slipped 2% and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. fell 3.1%.
Index heavyweight Sony was down 1.5%. In autos, Nissan fell almost 3% while Toyota and Honda reversed 1.2% and 1.8% each, respectively.
Elpida Memory tumbled 5.4%, leading declines for tech shares. Advantest fell 4.5% and Softbank lost 3.1%.
In Hong Kong, CNOOC slipped 4.6% and PetroChina was down 3.1%. A decline in metal prices pressured stocks like Jiangxi Copper which melted 3.9%. Aluminum Corporation of China fell 3.2%. Gold stocks also lost ground as Zijin Mining ended down 3.8% after Comex benchmark gold futures fell in electronic trading.
Esprit Holdings extended losses as it closed 2.6% lower. Li & Fung also shed another 3.2%.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group and New China Life Insurance Co. did poorly on their debuts with each trading down more than 7% from their offer prices during the day. Chow Tai was down 1.9% at close while New China lost 1.4%
Airtel was the top loser on the Sensex, down 4.6%, followed by Tata Motors, down 3.9%.
Airtel was affected by reports the telecom regulator, TRAI, is in the process of taking legal action against the company for violating the mobile number portability, or MNP guidelines.
L&T and Sterlite were down about 3.4% each. Other losers included Hindalco, BHEL, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki, SBI and Hero MotoCorp, all down in a range between 2.1% and 3%.
Index heavyweight ICICI Bank pared declines but was still down 0.5% after hitting a 52-week low earlier in the morning.
In Sydney, financial stocks were in the red with the big four retail banks all trading weak. NAB was down 1.6% after its CEO Cameron Gyle said 2012 would be a challenging year as the markets remain volatile and consumer sentiment remains subdued.
ANZ gave up 0.9% while CBA erased 1.5%. Westpac was down 1.6%. Investment bank Macquarie Group rose 0.9%.
Resources sank deeper in the red with BHP Billiton down 1.8% and fellow miner Rio Tinto 2.8% lower. Fortescue Metals was down 3.4%.
Gold miner Newcrest dropped 2.9% after it suspended operations at its mine in Papua New Guinea as a precautionary measure following an earthquake.
BlueScope Steel was placed in a trading halt.
Energy shares also fared badly with Woodside Petroleum down 1.7% and Santos down 2.2%. Oil Search lost 2.3%.
In economic news, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a fall in car sales for the month of November.
