Market Update
Shares in Asia ended mostly lower Tuesday, following a tepid close on Wall Street overnight, and amid a string of earnings news.
At close, Japan's Nikkei and China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and India's Sensex lost 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. Across the region, Australia's ASX edged up 1.1%.
A stronger yen hit Japanese stocks while resource plays witnessed selling due to lower commodity prices.
Stocks on the Move
In Tokyo, auto shares slipped after media reports said last month's devastating earthquake and the consequent production cuts may result in revenue losses to the tune of 1 trillion yen for automakers. Toyota, Honda and Mazda erased 1.6% to 2.4%.
Shares in Canon were off 0.9% after the electronics major declared its quarterly earnings.
In Hong Kong and China, selling in financials, property and commodity stocks offset strength in aviation stocks.
Henderson Land declined 1.5% in Hong Kong, PetroChina was down 1.9% while Jiangxi Copper dropped 2.7%.
China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China rose between 1.8% and 2.9%, after crude prices dipped.
Indian stocks traded deep in the red for most parts of the day but managed to end only slightly lower.
Telecom shares ended positive, as investors bought into beaten-down stocks, following the recent federal probe in spectrum licensing. Bharti Airtel rose 1.7%.
In Sydney, financials boosted the index with National Australia Bank, ANZ Bank and Westpac Banking adding 1.1% to 2%.