Market Update
Asian shares ended mostly flat as Europe's sovereign debt concerns weighed heavy on investor sentiment in the absence of any positive triggers in the region.
The Shanghai Composite and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed marginally lower, down 0.3% each. The Nikkei and the Hang Seng ended up 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. India's Sensex slipped back a couple of points below the 18,000 level, ending unchanged after remaining in positive territory for much of the day's trade.
The euro recovered against most currencies, going up from a two-month low against the dollar.
Stocks on the Move
Electronics giant Sony Corp. posted a net loss for the just ended financial year but helped light up the Japanese benchmark, closing 2.7% higher after Nomura Holdings Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG said profit would probably beat the company's estimates for the current year. Investment bank Macquarie also raised the company's outlook to Outperform from Neutral.
Toshiba Corp. jumped 2.1% after it said it is targeting an operating profit of 500 billion yen for fiscal 2013 and simultaneously announced a capital expenditure of 1.45 trillion yen in the next three years on computer chips, hard disks and smart grids.
Euro-sensitive shares declined as Canon closed 0.7% lower and Mazda Motor ended down 1.7%.
Among news-driven stocks, Softbank Corp. gained 3.1% on local media reports the company is planning to build 10 solar power facilities in partnership with the government.
In China, index heavyweight PetroChina Company slid 2% while China Petroleum & Chemical fell 0.3%.
Banks continued their downward movement on the S&P/ASX 200 on Europe's sovereign debt worries. ANZ Banking Group and Commonwealth Bank closed down 1% each while National Australia Bank lost 0.6%. Westpac Banking Corp. erased just over 1% gains. Macquarie Group fell 1.3%.
Industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers lost ground, closing 1.2% lower after it downgraded sales forecasts for one of its mines in Queensland. Ruralco Holdings was smartly up 2.8% after it increased first half profit and said growth in new businesses provided a cautiously optimistic outlook for the next six months.
Major Sensex gainers in India were Larsen & Toubro, up 1.7% and ICICI Bank, up 1.3%. Reliance Industries, Infosys and Tata Steel all gained between 0.3% and 1.2%.