By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asian shares came under some selling pressure on Friday, as Europe’s debt troubles and uncertainty on the progress of the U.S. economic recovery kept sentiment in check.
The Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK -0.64% traded down 0.6%, the Hang Seng Index HK:HSI -0.45% slipped 0.4%, South Korea’s Kospi KR:0100 -0.72% fell 0.8% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO +0.13% slipped 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite Index CN:000001 -0.15% rose 0.4% after losing 2.4% over the last two trading days.
“Sentiment is still quite weak because of the European debt issues and market caution about the global economic slowdown,” said Conita Hung, head of equities at Delta Asia Financial Markets.
Hung said that caution about whether the People’s Bank of China will raise interest rates is also weighing on shares. See related story on Chinese interest rates.
“Although the U.S. market bounced last night, overall Asian markets still have some selling pressure,” she said. Read more on U.S. stock moves on Thursday.
Shares recorded heavy losses in Asia on Thursday, with exporters and banks hit especially hard, as worries about Europe and the U.S. converged amid rioting in Greece and some more disappointing data on the U.S. economy.
But after the Asian market close on Thursday, the International Monetary Fund said it would support Greece, and U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected, while housing starts also beat estimates, helping ease jitters a little.
Still, the concerns weighed on exporters, with Esprit Holdings Ltd. HK:330 -3.93% ESHDF +2.24% losing 3.6% on the Hong Kong exchange, while Hyundai Motor Co. shares lost 1.3% in Seoul.
Korean technology firms were notably weak, with Samsung Electronics Co. SSNLF +78.57% down 4.6%, LG Electronics Inc. LGEAF 0.00% falling 3%, and Hynix Semiconductor HXSCL 0.00% sliding 7.6%
Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. RIMM +0.45% shares slumped in U.S. after-hours trading Thursday after the firm posted weaker-than-expected first-quarter results and cut its fiscal-year outlook. Read more on RIM share move.
Among advancers, Olympus Corp., JP:7733 +0.60% rose 1.1% in Tokyo after an upgrade to overweight from underweight at J.P. Morgan, while Citizen Holdings Co. Ltd. JP:7762 +3.05% traded 3.1% higher. Mazda Motor Co. JP:7261 +1.56% shares rose 1.6%.
Woodside Petroluem Ltd. AU:WPL -3.80% WOPEF +2.72% fell 4.3% in Sydney after the firm warned of cost overruns and delays at its Pluto gas project. Read more on Woodside warning on Pluto.
Strategists at RBC Capital Markets cautioned that market sentiment “remains on a knife edge.”
“News that Greece is likely (maybe) to get funding through the summer helped dissipate the gloom for a while, but there remain several hurdles, notably the upcoming confidence vote, and next week’s EU summit that could still roil markets,” they said.
