Market Update
Asian markets ended mixed Thursday following a negative closing on Wall Street overnight and as investors skirted risky assets after more tensions in Ukraine.
The Nikkei fell 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite was down 1.1% while the Hang Seng was up 0.4%. The Sensex also moved up 0.4% ahead of election results due tomorrow while the All Ordinaries added 0.3%.
Earlier, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine was "as close to civil war as you can get" and urged for a solution.
Gold prices rose as fears heightened of more fighting in the region.
Preliminary data out earlier showed Japan's gross domestic product rose more-than-expected in the last quarter. GDP rose to a seasonally adjusted 1.5% from 0.1% in the preceding quarter and more than expectations for a 1% gain.
The growth was the fastest in the quarter in more than two years as GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.9%.
Investors also focused on tech earnings in Japan.
Later today, the U.S. is to release data on initial jobless claims, industrial production and consumer inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing in the Philadelphia area.
Stocks on the Move
Markets disregarded the strong GDP numbers in Tokyo.
Shares of index heavyweight Sony fell 6.1% as they got their first chance to react to results announced after the market close yesterday when the company’s management predicted a sixth annual loss for the current year.
Peer group shares followed suit with Panasonic and Olympus all lower. Canon edged up a marginal 0.1%. Toshiba was down 0.7% while NEC Corp. fell 2%. Sharp gained 1.8% while Konami added 1.2%.
Pioneer Corp. surged 4.4% on a Nikkei report that it is in talks to sell its audio-visual equipment business.
Also moving on results, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial closed up 1.1% while Sumitomo Mitsui fell 3%. Mizuho ended flat.
Tencent Holdings also ended flat in Hong Kong as the stock gave up all of the day’s gains after smashing earnings estimates.
Other tech companies benefited as Kingsoft Corp. surged 5.8% and Kingdee added 3.2%.
Property counters dragged on the mainland markets.
The top gainer in Mumbai was Tata Power, up 3.1%, followed by NTPC, up 3%, and ONGC, up 2.6%.
Gail India and HUL closed up 2.2% and 2.1% each, respectively.
Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and M&M all closed up in a range between 1.3% and 1.9%.
Earlier, Tata Steel reported results that exceeded expectations.
Election results are due to be announced between 8.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. in India and the markets could see volatility during the counting hours.
CBA edged 0.4% higher in Sydney after a number of ratings changes following its earnings report yesterday.
Also after results, Graincorp added 0.8%.
Health care stocks ended mostly lower for the second straight session following the release of the budget late Tuesday.
Sonic Healthcare was down 0.5% while Capitol Health and Ramsay Health Care gave up 1% and 0.7% each, respectively. Health care insurer NIB Holdings closed flat.