Market Update
Asian markets were trading mostly flat after heavy losses yesterday saw several key indexes in the region fall to near three-month lows.
Volatile commodity prices and weakness on Wall Street and Europe also continued to weigh on investor sentiment amid the debt crisis in the Eurozone. The euro continued its slide in early trade after falling to a two-month low on Monday.
At the time of writing, the Shanghai Composite and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 were marginally lower by 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. Both the Nikkei and the Hang Seng traded up 0.1% while India's Sensex regained the psychological 18,000 level, higher by 0.4%.
Stocks on the Move
In Tokyo, shares of Sony Corp. rose 2.7% despite saying after market hours Monday it expects a net loss of $3.2 billion for the just-ended financial year, but kept its operating profit forecast unchanged. Auto stocks drove deeper into the red on concerns of weak Chinese demand.
But some heavy losers from yesterday, Tokyo Electric Power Co, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co and Komatsu Ltd, all bounced back to trade between 1% and 2% higher.
On the Hang Seng, second-hand luxury handbags maker Milan Station dipped 0.7% after closing up 66% on debut yesterday.
In China, steel and aluminum stocks declined with Baoshan Iron & Steel Co falling 0.4% after Goldman Sachs cut its stock ratings for the industries and also pared economic growth forecasts for the nation.
Bank of China slipped 0.6% after a media report said investors are afraid the central bank may further increase reserve requirements. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China was trading lower by 0.5%.
In India, the major Sensex gainers included Larsen & Toubro, up 1.5%, and Reliance Industries, up 1.1%. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively, while IT major Infosys traded up 0.7%.
Banks continued to lead the fall on the S&P/ASX 200 as National Australia Bank lost 1.1%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia also erased 1.1% while Westpac Banking Corp. slipped 0.9%. Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were up 0.2% each.