Asian Markets Bear Selling

HONG KONG -- Asian markets saw broadly bearish trading Thursday, as Japan's Nikkei bottomed out to a new 18-month low, although China continued to display resilience to regional selling.

The Nikkei finished 211 points, or 1.45% lower, at 14,388, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained slightly for the day, by 20 points, or 0.4%, to 5456. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng followed Japan's bearish lead, down 384 points, or 1.4%, to 27,230, as investors cashed out recent gains in commodity and property stocks.

"Hong Kong rebounded substantially yesterday, and that rebound affected the U.S. market, but only by one-hundred odd points," says Conita Hung, head of equities for Delta Asia Finance Group in Hong Kong. "Markets reacted on the back of a weak U.S. rebound."

Leading Japanese declines were exporters as the yen gained against the dollar, at 109.81 vs. 110.04 earlier in the Asian trading session.

Honda(HMC Quote - Cramer on HMC - Stock Picks) lost 2.3%, to 3400 yen, Sony(SNE Quote - Cramer on SNE - Stock Picks) shed 1%, to 6130 yen, and Kobe Steel(KBSTY Quote - Cramer on KBSTY - Stock Picks) slipped 0.8%, to 357 yen. One notable gainer was Nintendo(NTDOY Quote - Cramer on NTDOY - Stock Picks), which rose 0.2%, to 60,000 yen, as recent data suggesting that the game-maker's Wii console is selling better than competitors' brands cheered investors.

Financials also fared badly, as Mizuho Financial(MFG Quote - Cramer on MFG - Stock Picks) dropped 2.7%, to 515,000 yen, Mitsubishi UFJ(MTU Quote - Cramer on MTU - Stock Picks) declined 2.2%, to 1024 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial(SMFJY Quote - Cramer on SMFJY - Stock Picks) fell 0.3%, to 603 yen.

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