Mar. 18, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Most Asian markets declined Thursday, with Japanese exporters dragged lower as the euro weakened against the yen following a report that Greece may seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo subsided 102.95 points, or 1%, to 10,744.03
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong trimmed 53.82 points, or 0.3%, to 21,330.67.
Shipbuilding stocks in the region were hurt by news of an order cancellation for South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
The broad decline came although the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5% higher Wednesday for its highest close in 17 months. Dow Jones Newswires cited a senior Greek official as saying that Athens may consider other options if discussions within the European Union fail to lead to a solution to the country's financial problems.
In Tokyo, Mazda Motor Corp. dropped 2% and Nikon Corp. slumped 4.2%.
Toshiba rose 0.7% on hopes for rising chip demand, said some experts, adding hopes for increasing demand for the nuclear power business in China is also supporting sentiment.
In Seoul, Hyundai Heavy, the world's biggest ship builder by order volume, fell 2.2% on news late Wednesday that a European client had cancelled a 480.2 billion won ($425 million U.S.) order to build five oil carriers due to financial problems. That fueled worries about order cancellations for other ship builders.
South Korean peer Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering lost 1.6%, while Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell 2.5% in afternoon trading.
LG Display extended gains for a third straight day, however, rising 0.3% after adding 7% in the previous two sessions on hopes the company will report solid first-quarter earnings.
Astro All Asia surged 18.5% to 4.22 ringgits ($1.27 U.S.) in Kuala Lumpur after unlisted Astro Holdings, owned by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan and partners, offered to buy out minority shareholders in a cash deal that values the Malaysian pay-TV operator at 8.5 billion ringgit ($2.57 billion U.S.), or 4.30 ringgits a share.
Market gains in Sydney were helped by a 1.3% rise in shares of heavyweight Telstra, after Credit Suisse said a bill to split the company was not likely to be passed by the Senate. The passage of the legislation is in doubt after the minority Greens party Wednesday said their support can no longer be taken for granted while the government refuses to provide an implementation study into its planned 43 billion Australian dollars ($39.1 billion U.S.) national broadband network.
Hong Kong shares were pressured as internet services firm Tencent Holdings slumped 5.5% despite posting strong fourth-quarter results, on concerns about a slowdown in revenue growth. A Deutsche Bank report downgrading the company to hold from buy also weighed on the stock.
China Mobile shares rose 1.2% after the company beat estimates with a 2.3% growth in net profit for the year ended Dec. 31.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro was sharply lower at 123.06 yen from 124.01 yen in New York trade Wednesday after the report on Greece. It also dropped against the U.S. dollar, and was buying $1.3668 from $1.3737 U.S. The U.S. dollar was fetching 90.04 yen from 90.25 yen.
Elsewhere;
Shanghai's CSI 300 Index slipped 6.36 points, or 0.2%, to 3,267.56.
Korea's Kospi index stepped back 7.69 points, or 0.5%, to 1,675.17
Singapore's Straits Times Index faded 5.36 points, or 0.2%, to 2,913.94
Taiwan's Taiex Index moved upwards 38.50 points, or 0.5%, to 7,886.34
New Zealand's NZX Index gained 19.73 points, or 0.6%, to 3,220.69
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 9.90 points, or 0.2%, to 4,863.10
