By Laura He, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday ahead of the release of the widely watched U.S. monthly employment report.
The U.S. Labor Department was due to release the jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Wall Street expects that 210,000 jobs were created in May. That would extend a surge in new jobs from February to April that marked the best three-month stretch of hiring in two years for the world’s largest economy.
Japanese shares ended little changed, with the Nikkei Average JP:NIK -0.01% down 2 points at 15,077.24. The broader Topix index JP:I0000 +0.13% edged up 0.2%, while the yen USDJPY -0.04% turned a little stronger versus the greenback, trading at ÂĄ102.288 from ÂĄ102.427 on Thursday.
Australian stocks shot higher, lifted by financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO +0.50% settled up 0.5%, while the Aussie AUDUSD +0.11% strengthened to 93.53 U.S. cents from 93.28 U.S. cents in the previous session.
However, Hong Kong stocks moved off its opening high and suffered a further sell-off near the close, with the Hang Seng Index HK:HSI -0.69% finishing 0.7% lower. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index CN:SHCOMP -0.54% declined 0.5%.
Amid the sell-off in Hong Kong, state-owned Bank of China HK:3988 -2.16% was the most-heavily shorted stock, with a short-selling turnover of more than 553 million Hong Kong dollars ($71.3 million). Bank of China shares tumbled 2.2%. Other major state banks also retreated, including China Construction Bank Corp. HK:0939 -1.39% , down 1.4%, Agricultural Bank of China HK:1288 -0.55% , off by 0.6%, and ICBC HK:1398 -0.19% , down 0.2%.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission on Friday said it plans to lower the financing cost for Chinese companies and urged commercial banks to halt “unreasonable fees” they charge their customers. The regulator said they had set out plans for an overhaul on the banks.
In Japan, telecoms giant SoftBank JP:9984 -1.56% declined 1.6%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corp. JP:6954 -1.31% lost 1.3%, and electronics maker Hitachi JP:6501 -1.24% fell 1.2%. However, semiconductor company Renesas Electronics Cop. JP:6723 +2.79% advanced 2.8%, and tech major Sharp Corp. JP:6753 +1.97% rose 2%.
In Australia, top gainers included investment bank Macquarie Group AU:MQG +1.69% as it rose 1.7% and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group AU:ANZ +1.32% picked up 1.3%. Westpac Banking Corp. AU:WBC +1.02% moved up 1%, and National Australia Bank AU:NAB +0.90% was higher by 0.9%.
Qindao Port stock sinks on debut
The Hong Kong trading debut of Qingdao Port International’s stock HK:6198 0.00% was met with cries of “Sell! Sell!” as the launch coincided with a probe into the misuse of commodities held by other parties at the port as funding collateral.
After pricing its IPO at 3.76 Hong Kong dollars (49 U.S. cents), Qingdao Port saw its stock end the morning session at HK$3.67, for a loss of 2.4%.
While the city of Qingdao is probably better known globally for its namesake beer, it’s also the eighth busiest port on Earth (or so says the World Shipping Council). Reports say that authorities there are looking into whether some companies used their stocks of iron ore, copper and whatnot to obtain loans, possibly reusing the same lots for multiple loans.
The Wall Street Journal quotes Qingdao Port International’s chairman as offering this bit of public relations at the company’s listing ceremony Friday: “All our businesses are operating normally. Please go to our website for more information.”
Unfortunately, a cursory search by MarketWatch of Qingdao Port’s “latest news” page on its website yielded no further details of the probe.
