By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Asia markets traded lower early
Wednesday, with investors slapping down Japanese stocks after the
yen spiked overnight.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average thudded 1.9% lower but held on to
the 13,000 level, trading at 13,071.72.
Other major indexes fell more modestly, with Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 down 0.8%, and South Korea's Kospi losing 0.5%,
while New Zealand's NZSX 50 slipping 0.2%.
Markets in China -- including those in Hong Kong and Shanghai --
were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Japan led the losses after the dollar (USDJPY) fell by almost 2
full yen overnight, with the greenback sitting at Yen96.38 in the
early Tokyo morning after buying more than Yen98 at Tuesday's Japan
stock close.
The currency moves prompted further misery for exporter shares,
with Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) down 3.1%, Renesas Electronics Corp.
(RNECY) losing 4.1%, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) retreating 3%, and
Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) down 3.6%.
Among the few gainers, Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) added 0.6% after a
Nikkei news report that the conglomerate had secured an order to
supply trains for a light-rail project in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh
City.
Wireless provider KDDI Corp. (KDDIF) reversed early mild gains
to trade 0.5% lower after Barclays raised its rating on the stock
to overweight.
Meanwhile, Tuesday's losses on Wall Street -- with a
triple-digit loss for the Dow industrials (DJI) and a 1% fall for
the S&P 500 (SPX) -- helped weigh on financials around
Asia.
In Tokyo, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MTU) lost 3.4%,
Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. (DCNSF) traded 3.6% lower, Daiwa
Securities Group Inc. (DSEEY) dove 4.4%, and Resona Holdings Inc.
(8308.TO) pulled back 4.1%.
Likewise, many Australian banks saw selling, with National
Australia Bank Ltd. (NAUBF) down 1.1%, Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK)
off 1.9%, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANEWF)
losing 1.4%, though Macquarie Group Ltd. (MCQEF) rose 1.2%,
building on the previous day's 1.3% advance.
Mining stocks also took a toll on the Sydney market after a
decline in many commodity prices, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.
(FSUMY) down 1.2%, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) slipping 0.2%, and
Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) off 0.9% after the gold producer told
Australia's securities exchange that it didn't break any
share-listing rules related to the timing of the company's recent
restructuring announcement.
Early weakness in Australia briefly sent the S&P/ASX 200
into a technical correction, defined as a 10% drop from the most
recent high.
In South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF) took another
fall, losing 0.7% after dropping 2.5% the previous day amid
concerns over sales for its new Galaxy S4 smartphone.
However, Credit Suisse held the shares at outperform, saying the
recent losses for Samsung offered a buying opportunity, according
to Dow Jones Newswires.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires