TOKYO -- Japanese shares clawed out of a hole as the
Nikkei 225
index fell below a key psychological support level of 15,500 during the trading session before making an upward move to finish at 15,727.49
Overall, the Nikkei 225 index, however, shed 111.08, or 0.70% to finish at 15,727.49, while the
Topix
index, which includes all shares listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange's
first section, inched up 0.22, at 1453.15. The
Jasdaq
small-cap index lost 1.64, or 2.2%, at 71.95, while the Nikkei
over-the-counter
index shed 36.98, or 2.3%, at 1549.09.
Sentiment overall is rather weak following a banking scandal forced the head of Japan's bank watchdog group to resign. Head of the
Financial Reconstruction Commission
Kimitaka Kuze resigned over the weekend after the media blasted him for taking bribes from
Mitsubishi Trust & Banking
, as well as construction firm
Daikyo
while he was a member of
Parliament
. Shares of Daikyo fell 11 yen, or 4.8%, to 220 ($2.00).
Large-cap tech shares were mixed, with
Sony
(SNE) - Get Report
falling 110 yen, or 1.1%, to 10,070,
Softbank
finished flat at 9150 and
Fujitsu
(FJTSY)
climbed 230, or 8.1%, to 3080.
Nomura Securities
(NRSCY)
rose 135, or 6.7%, at 2145 after the firm reported late Friday that first-quarter net profits jumped 516% from the same period last year to 64.40 billion yen.
The greenback edged slightly higher against the yen to recently fetch 109.50. Many currency dealers say the dollar has a chance to climb to 112.00 over the next month or so, or as long as the stock market remains bogged down.
With rate worries fresh in investors' minds once again, Hong Kong's
Hang Seng
index dropped 342.95, or 2.0%, at 16,840.98. With the territory's currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, any rate rise stateside means higher rates at home. Bank and property shares were hit, including
HSBC
(HBC)
, down HK$2.00, or 1.9%, at 101.50,
Bank of East Asia
(BKEAY)
, down 0.35, or 1.9%, at 17.65 and
Cheung Kong
, down 1.75, or 1.9%, at 92.00.
Telecom firms were also depressed, with
China Mobile
(CHL) - Get Report
losing 1.50, or 2.3%, at 62.75 and
Hutchison Whampoa
(HUWHY)
declining 3.00, or 2.7%, at 109.00.
Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's
Kospi
index gained 13.32, or 1.9%, at 705.97, while Taiwan's
TWSE
index shed 29.01 at 8114.92.
