Market Update
Shares in Asia ended close to the flat line, after Wall Street ended slightly higher overnight, even as the Bank of Japan eased its monetary policy further to boost reconstruction activity.
At close, Japan's Nikkei and China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% and 0.2%. India's Sensex and Australia's ASX declined 0.1% each. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended flat.
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan held its interest rates at record-low levels and unveiled a new loan facility to facilitate lending to help businesses cope up with last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Stocks on the Move
In Tokyo, financials gained on the fresh easing in monetary policy. Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho and Mitsubishi UFJ added 0.2% to 2.4%.
Export-focused automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan climbed 0.9% to 1.1% while electronics giants Sony, Canon and Panasonic rose 0.2% to 0.7%.
In Hong Kong, shares ended in the red after a higher opening, pulled down by selling in property stocks. Sun Hung Kai Properties declined 1.1% while China Resources Land dipped 0.5%.
Metal stocks gained in China, tracking higher commodity prices: Aluminum Corporation of China, Jiangxi Copper and Yunnan Tin rose 0.4% to 1.1%. Financials ended mostly flat.
Indian stocks consolidated for another day after the robust two-week rally seen recently. Mid- and small-cap stocks, which had underperformed during the rally, outperformed.
Technology stocks witnessed selling after the recent rally in the rupee versus the U.S. dollar: Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services erased 0.7% and 2%, respectively.
Australian stocks flirted with both sides of the dotted line after miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively. In banks, National Australia Bank was off 0.3% but ANZ Bank ended 0.7% higher.