Market Update
Asian shares ended mixed as weak economic data in the region restricted gains after directionless trading for most of the day's session.
Barring the Nikkei which extended yesterday's gains to close at a three-week high, up 0.3%, most other indexes finished unchanged. The S&P/ASX 200 ended flat after touching an eight-day high in intra-day trade. Weak PMI data ensured a flat closing for the Shanghai Composite while the Hang Seng finished 0.2% lower. India's Sensex closed up 0.6% even as trading volumes remained lower than usual during noon trade.
The prospect of a split in Japan's ruling party and caution regarding the economic recovery in the U.S capped gains in Tokyo. Asian markets will look ahead to a slew of key economic data from the US, expected later today.
Stocks on the Move
Leading apparel chain Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, was the biggest gainer on he Nikkei, rising 2.6% after a company executive said Tuesday the firm expects a sales boost from its range of lighter clothing this summer.
Fanuc Corp and and Tokyo Electron gained 1.4% and 2% each, respectively. Sony Corp. was up 0.8% on a business report it will aim to reduce operating losses in its television business by at least half this year.
Toyota fell 0.6% and Chugoku Electric Power lost 1.6% after cancelling a plan to start commercial operations at a new unit in western Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power Company dropped 5.7% as it continued to grapple with issues around its Fukushima nuclear plant complex and after Standard and Poor's lowered the company's rating to junk status.
The world's top contract cell-phone maker Foxconn Holdings dropped 5.2% in Hong Kong ahead of its exit from the benchmark Hang Seng index next week, and after mobile-phone firm Nokia issued a gloomy earnings estimate.
China Overseas Land & Investment., a developer controlled by the construction ministry, fell 1.9% after signing a syndicated loan with 11 banks.
Henderson Land Development Co. dropped 1.1% after a media report that said three apartment sales by the builder had been cancelled.
In Shanghai, banking stocks offset gains in coal and consumer stocks after economic data showed that China's manufacturing expanded at a slower pace in May. The official purchasing manager index fell for a second consecutive month to 52.0 in May from 52.9 in April. Heavy machinery and equipment stocks reacted, with China First Heavy declining 1%.
Real estate firms Poly Real Estate and China Vanke Co. lost 0.8% and 1.9% each, respectively after media reports that the central bank may raise borrowing costs. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China retreated 1.5%.
Reliance Communications was the top gainer in Mumbai, closing up 4.5% despite disappointing earnings announced earlier this week. The company said it has received several offers for a controlling stake in its mobile tower arm. Group firm Reliance Infrastructure was up 1.4%. Other gainers included state-run NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, and Larsen & Toubro, all of them ending up between 2.4% and 3.4% each.
Auto maker Maruti Suzuki ended up 2.1% after it reported a 1.9% increase in car sales for the month of May. Rival Tata Motors reported an overall 10% increase in May sales, but the stock fell 1.2%. The company said passenger car sales declined sharply.
Tata Steel initially rose after it said it has offloaded 51% stake in group company Tata Refractories to Nippon Steel's associate Krosaki Harima Corporation, or KHC and inducted the Japanese firm as a strategic partner. But the stock ended the day in the red, losing 1.2% on the Sensex.
Financials led the decline on the Australian benchmark as the country's four major banks, NAB, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ all ended between 0.5% and 1.5% lower.
Fortescue Metals closed 2.6% higher as it said it planned to bring forward its iron ore production target of 155 million tonnes per annum by up to a year.
Mining majors BHP Billiton closed up 0.4% higher while Rio Tinto ended flat, up just a fraction.