Most Asian Markets Finish Lower
The Associated Press
04/24/09 - 05:12 AM EDT
By Jeremiah Marquez
HONG KONG -- Most Asian markets dropped Friday as investors braced for news about the "stress tests" on major U.S. banks, while weak company results undercut hopes for an economic recovery.
Volumes were thin, suggesting investors are hesitant to place large bets one way or the other without clearer signs about the prospects for the economy and company results. Crude oil prices were steady, while the dollar slid almost 1% against the yen and the euro.
As in the U.S., company reports in Asia sent mixed signals.
South Korea's
Samsung Electronics reported a massive drop in profit that, while better than forecast, still underlined the toll slumping demand is having on the region's major companies. Top brokerage
Nomura(NMR Quote) suffered one of the largest annual losses in Japanese corporate history
Investors also were treading cautiously ahead of news about Washington's stress tests, which will determine whether the country's biggest banks have enough capital to withstand severe loan losses during the recession. The
Federal Reserve is expected to explain its methodology for the tests on Friday and release results on May 4.
After a six-week rally, trading in many markets has turned choppy in recent days as investors swing between hope and skepticism about the economic outlook.
Most markets seesawed before heading lower in the afternoon.
Europe fared better in early trading, with major benchmarks in Britain, France and Germany up more than 1% each.
But with U.S. stock futures mixed, Wall Street was poised for a lackluster open on Friday.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 1.6% to close at 8,707.99, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3%.
South Korea's Kospi fell 1.1%. The Korean economy, Asia's fourth largest, narrowly avoided slipping into recession in the first quarter as government pump priming offset a slump in exports, but officials still predict a contraction for the full year.
Markets in Australia and China also fell.
Tech stocks were battered after Samsung, the world's biggest manufacturer of computer memory chips, said net profit plunged 72% in the first quarter, showing more fallout from sharply lower consumer spending worldwide. Its shares fell 5.6%. In Japan, chipmaker
Elpida Memory tumbled almost 12%.
Shares in Asian automakers also were a wreck as struggling U.S. car company
Chrysler rushed to devise a restructuring plan before a government deadline. The Treasury Department is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for the company, according to a
New York Times report.
In Tokyo,
Toyota(TM Quote) shifted down a gear, falling 1.3%, and
Nissan(NSANY Quote) reversed 4.1%.
Hyundai skidded 2.8% in Seoul.
Banks were a rare bright spot, with Japanese mega lender
Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU Quote) up 3.4%. Nomura closed down 1.2% before announcing that it lost 709.4 billion yen ($7.3 billion) for the fiscal year.
Traders looking to the U.S. found little direction after Wall Street finished another back-and-forth session on Thursday with modest gains.
The
Dow Jones industrial Average finished up 70.49, or 0.9%, to 7,957.06, making up most of Wednesday's loss of 83 points. The
S&P 500 index rose 8.37, or 1%, to 851.92.
In oil, benchmark crude for June delivery rose 36 cents to $49.98. The contract rose Thursday 77 cents to settle at $49.62.
The dollar fell to 96.96 yen from 97.85 yen. The euro gained to $1.3248 from $1.3128.
