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SINGAPORE–Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as Europe's ongoing sovereign-debt problems kept many investors on the sidelines.
"The potential for further negative developments in Europe is keeping people cautious," said Morgan Stanley Smith Barney vice president Shannon Briggs in Sydney. "Investors aren't doing much. It's painfully slow."
Following heavy selling the previous day, regional markets took some comfort after Italy was able to conclude a successful bond auction Thursday, despite growing fears that the cost of the country's debt is spiraling out of control. Investors were also encouraged by news that Greece had named former European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos as its next prime minister Thursday, ending three days of wrangling between the country's two main political parties over who will lead an interim government.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 1.1% and New Zealand's NZX-50 tacked on 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 16 points in screen trade.
Many of the recently beaten-down financial and exporter stocks were mixed, indicating a lack of conviction among investors as they fretted about a cratering global economy amid the lack of a concrete plan to address Europe's debt crisis.
In Tokyo, Sony added 0.8% after selling off heavily in recent sessions due to its outsized exposure to Europe. Others such as Toyota Motor fell 1.1%. In Australia, ANZ Bank rose 0.4%, while BHP Billiton lost 0.7%, and in Seoul KB Financial rose 2.8% and Samsung Electronics advanced 0.6%.
South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor jumped 2.8% after SK Telecom submitted the lone final bid for a controlling stake in the chip maker worth around $2.8 billion. SK Telecom fell 2.4%.
The Bank of Korea Friday kept its key policy rate on hold at 3.25% for a fifth straight month as expected. While BOK Governor Kim Choong-soo has said the central bank remains biased toward raising rates due to stubbornly high core inflation, a growing number of analysts believe the BOK could reverse course and start easing rates next year if Europe's woes hurt the local economy.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro was steady against the U.S. dollar. While investors took heart from Italy's successful treasury auction continued anxiety kept investors from leaving the safety of the greenback.
"An easing of political stresses from Greece and Italy are unlikely to offer a lasting reprieve for the euro. Indeed, next week we get bond supply from Italy, Spain and France that may test investor appetite in this unsettled environment," Brown Brothers Harriman said in a note to clients.
The single currency was at $1.3582 against the dollar, from $1.3572 late Thursday in New York, and at ¥105.48 against the yen, from ¥105.38. The dollar was at ¥77.60, from ¥77.65.
Spot gold was at $1,759.00 per troy ounce, up $1.00 from its New York settlement on Thursday. December Nymex crude oil futures were down 22 cents $97.56 per barrel on Globex.
source: online.wsj.com
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