By Daniel Inman
Asian stocks were mostly lower Wednesday, as renewed concerns
over U.S. military intervention in Syria weighed on regional
sentiment.
Although Wall Street gave a positive lead to Asia, reopening on
Tuesday after the Labor Day public holiday, regional stocks
retreated after the possibility of U.S. strike in Syria returned to
the fore. U.S. indexes gave up much of their earlier gains on
Tuesday.
"Uncertainty stemming from particularly complex geopolitical
events is never a good thing for markets," said Tim Radford, global
analyst at Rivkin.
House Speaker John Boehner said that he supports President
Barack Obama's call for military action in Syria.
In addition, the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee reached an agreement on a resolution authorizing limited
military strikes against Syria. The resolution is expected to be
put to a vote of the full committee Wednesday and could reach the
full Senate for a vote as early as next week.
Chinese stocks pulled back after positive manufacturing data
from both China and Europe lifted Hong Kong-listed Chinese
companies more than a total of 4% Monday and Tuesday.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 22326.22 and the Hang Seng
China Enterprises Index was 0.2% lower at 10233.03.
The Shanghai Composite , however, managed a 0.2% gain to
2127.62.
China Construction Bank Corp. stock was in focus in Hong Kong,
down 1.4% after Bank of America Corp. (BAC) sold its remaining
holdings in the lender for $1.5 billion -- the latest in a U.S.
banking retreat from China's financial system.
Japan's Nikkei recouped early losses as the yen maintained its
recent weakness, ending the day 0.5% higher at 14053.87. The U.S.
dollar traded at Yen99.62 late in Asia, compared with Yen99.57 late
Tuesday in New York.
Shipping companies outperformed in Tokyo, driven by a slew of
recent upbeat manufacturing data from around the globe. Kawasaki
Kisen Kaisha gained 3.1% and Mitsui OSK Lines rose 2.1%.
Investors were also reacting to a range of company news in
Tokyo. Canon Inc. (CAJ) jumped 3.8% after the company said it will
buy back up to 18 million of its own shares, representing 1.6% of
its outstanding shares. The company will spend up to Yen50 billion
($502 million) on the buyback.
Honda Motor Co. (HMC) rose 0.6% after a Nikkei report said it
likely increased its annual dividend for the year ending March on
expectations of strong earnings.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7% to 5161.60 as
cyclical stocks including banks and resource companies struggled as
worries about the situation in Syria triggered risk aversion.
Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK) lost 1%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(CBAUY) fell 0.4% and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) fell 0.8%.
The Australian dollar (AUDUSD) received a boost after the
country's economy expanded in the second quarter. The economy grew
at an annualized 2.6%, meeting expectations of economists and
pushing the Australian dollar up to 91.42 cents late in Asia from
90.38 cents late Tuesday.
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