HONG KONG - Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday as a series of poor data out of Europe and the United States raised concerns over the global recovery.
The yen briefly slumped in Tokyo afternoon trade, prompting speculation that the government had stepped into the foreign exchange markets to sell the unit for a second time.
But the currency, which shed one yen against the dollar, soon clawed back most of its losses as the government's refusal to confirm its intervention led traders to suggest the big movements were caused by heavy selling by banks.
Tokyo's Nikkei stock index ended 0.99 per cent, or 94.65 points, lower at 9,471.67. The bourse had gone into the break 1.25 per cent lower but the yen's loss in the afternoon sent it soaring into the green before easing back again.
"The price action is very specific and strange" though no intervention has been seen directly, Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of FX trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said of Friday's yen movement.
Sydney shed 0.68 per cent, or 31.7 points, to end at 4,601.9 but Hong Kong was up 0.33 per cent, or 71.72 points, at 22,119.43 on bargain hunting.
Shanghai was closed for a public holiday.
Investors were given a weak lead from Wall Street where the Dow fell 0.72 per cent following the release of data showing the US jobs market was still in a bad state.
The Labor Department said the number of Americans asking for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, ending a four-week decline.
Claims for the week to September 18 hit 465,000, worse than most forecasts of 450,000 new claims.
There was a little good news with US home sales rising 7.6 per cent in September, but the level of activity still remained depressed compared to pre-recession levels.
Earlier a manufacturing survey in Europe came in under par. September's eurozone purchasing managers' index, a survey of 4,500 euro-area companies compiled by research group Markit, crashed to 53.8 points from 56.2 in August.
Any score above 50 indicates growth and the index has been in positive territory for 14 months but the latest figures marked the fastest drop since November 2008.
European concerns were compounded by data out of Ireland that showed the economy unexpectedly shrank 1.2 per cent in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, leading to concerns of another recession there.
And in debt-laden Portugal, the main opposition party warned it would not approve a budget for next year proposed by the minority government unless tax hikes were removed.
Adoption of the budget is crucial for the country's troubled economy, with Lisbon facing heavy pressure from the European Union and international investors to slash its swollen budget deficit.
The dollar stood at 84.58 yen, edging up from 84.39 Thursday in New York. It had soared to 85.38 to the dollar at 0422 GMT, more than one yen up from an intraday low 84.34.
The huge swing led to reports that the government had returned to the markets for a second time, after it intervened on September 15 to help the nation's key exporters.
The euro was at 113.17 from 112.30. The European unit had shot up to 113.61 in the afternoon yen sell-off.
"There's no doubt Japanese banks were buying a lot, though it's not clear whether this was related to any government action," a senior forex dealer at a major European bank in Tokyo said.
The greenback has this week been off the mid-85 yen levels reached last week after Tokyo stepped into the currency markets for the first time since 2004 but is well up from the 15-year lows it reached just before the intervention.
Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday continued to keep up pressure on the yen's rise, saying he would take resolute measures when necessary to stop it from gaining too quickly.
Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo, told Dow Jones Newswires: "I think there is no doubt that the government will intervene but the question now is when that timing will be."
He added that many investors expected another intervention if the dollar looks like it would fall below 84 yen.
The Bank of Japan later denied market rumours that its governor Masaaki Shirakawa planned to resign, which had been suggested as the cause for the yen-selling.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, slid US$0.30 to US$74.88 a barrel.
On oil markets Brent North Sea crude for November delivery slipped US$0.34 cents to US$77.77.
Gold closed at US$1,295.50-1,296.50 an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Wednesday's closing price of US$1,290.00-1,291.00. The market was closed Thursday for a public holiday.
In other markets:
- Singapore closed 0.31 per cent, or 9.55 points, higher at 3,092.68. Commodities trader Olam International surged 6.8 per cent to finish at S$3.15 on news it had held preliminary talks with French rival Louis Dreyfus Commodities that could lead to a merger. Singapore Telecom advanced 0.64 per cent to end at S$3.14.
- Seoul closed 0.76 per cent, or 13.97 points, higher at 1,846.60.
- Taipei fell 0.44 per cent, or 35.92 points, to 8,166.62. Notebook maker Asustek slipped 2.37 per cent to 227.0 Taiwan dollars while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co edged up 0.17 per cent to 60.1.
- Jakarta soared 1.81 per cent, or 60.43 points, to 3,397.63.
- Kuala Lumpur ended 0.52 per cent, or 6.89 points, lower at 1,451.89.
- Manila rose 0.28 per cent, or 11.45 points, to 4,078.87. Philippine National Bank added 6.1 per cent to 71.00 pesos, Lepanto Consolidated Mining advanced 1.8 per cent to 57 centavos and Alliance Global lifted 4.9 per cent to 9.55.
- Wellington closed 0.52 per cent, or 16.87 points, lower at 3,211.16. Fletcher Building shed 1.9 per cent to 8.46 New Zealand dollars, while Auckland Airport fell 1.4 per cent to 2.05 and casino operator Sky City dropped 1.7 per cent to 2.89.
- Bangkok climbed 0.51 per cent, or 4.80 points, to close at 951.90. Banpu gained 6.00 baht to 702.00 while PTT Plc lost 1.00 baht to 290.00.
