ASIA STOCKS mixed as yen supports Tokyo

Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday, with Bank of Chongqing struggling in its debut in Hong Kong while a weaker yen supported shares in Tokyo. 

Wall Street provided the region with a negative lead overnight as stocks ended mostly lower, after a stronger-than-expected reading on the U.S. services industry raised fears that the Federal Reserve could reduce its monthly bond-buying program sooner than expected. 

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1% and Singapore’s Straits Times index dropped 0.1%. 

Japan’s Nikkei was one market that managed to make a substantial move, with the index rising 0.8% as the yen weakened during the session. 

Toyota bounced from morning losses, advancing 0.5% after public broadcaster NHK said the carmaker would raise its operating profit forecast to 2.2 trillion yen ($22.3 billion) from its previous estimate of 1.94 trillion yen. The automaker confirmed the revised forecast after the market close. 

Mitsubishi Motors rose 1.8% on news that it had agreed on an industrial partnership with Renault and Nissan Motor to share factories and technology as well as increase sales in North America and emerging markets through the joint development of electric vehicles. 

Nissan was up 2%, recovering from a 10% dive on Tuesday, after it cut its full-year earnings forecast. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.2%. 

Top mainland banks were generally weaker in Hong Kong, with Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. off 0.6% apiece, while China Merchants Bank Co. retreated 1.3%, with all three also losing ground in Shanghai. 

Bank of Chongqing fell 0.3% after the first Chinese bank to go public in three years started trading in Hong Kong. The fifth-largest bank by assets in the city of Chongqing raised $546 million in an offering. 

Shares of PetroChina Co. fell 0.9%, and Cnooc Ltd. dropped 0.8%, after crude-oil and natural-gas futures ended lower overnight in New York. 

In Sydney, where the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.1%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 1.2% after it reported a higher first-quarter profit. The country’s largest bank by market value announced net profit of 2.1 billion Australian dollars, or $2 billion, in the three months through Sept. 30, citing higher revenue and cost controls. 

Some miners were also able to buck the negative trend in Sydney, helped by an increase in spot iron ore increases. Rio Tinto rose 1.2% and Fortescue Metals Group added 4%. 

In Taiwan, where the Taiex rose 0.1%, Acer fell 6.9% after the world’s fourth-largest PC maker by shipments posted a third-quarter net loss that was worse than expected, as inventories piled up and the value of its acquisitions fell.

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