By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Asian stock markets traded broadly lower
Thursday, with property-share weakness weighing on the Hong Kong
bourse, though Tokyo shares rose on hopes for further policy
easing.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.2%, after shedding 0.9% over
the past two sessions.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.7%, while the
Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2%.
Likewise, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.8%, South
Korea's Kospi fell 0.6%, and Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.3%.
U.S. stocks ended with small gains on Wednesday, with the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI) sealing a nine-session streak of
gains after stronger-than-expected retail sales data for February.
Read: Stocks gain; Dow has longest win steak since 1996
The upbeat data helped the U.S. dollar move back above Yen96
overnight, though it slid during early Japanese trade. Major
exporters moved off their opening highs as a result, though many
remained solidly higher.
Nikon Corp. (NINOF) rose 3.8%, while Advantest Corp. (ATE) rose
1.4%, and Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY) added 0.6%.
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), dipped 0.2% and rival Honda Motor Co.
(HMC) lost 0.9%, however. Both are among auto companies which have
agreed to award bonuses to their workers, as the government has
urged such hikes in compensation to achieve its goal of 2%
inflation.
Panasonic Corp. (PC) lost 1.9% after an anonymously sourced
Nikkei news report said the firm plans to talk with labor unions
about lowering wages, as the electronics major looks set to post a
loss for the year through March 31.
Meanwhile, hopes for fresh deflation-fighting measures from
Tokyo got a boost, as a Wall Street Journal report said three
opposition parties had agreed Wednesday to the Japanese
government's choice for Bank of Japan governor, who is widely seen
as dovish on monetary policy.
Real-estate -- one of the sectors expected to benefit from
inflation -- saw gains, with Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) up 2.6%
and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (8830.TO) adding
1.4%.
Hong Kong property mauled
But most of Asia traded in the red, with property stocks
dropping in Hong Kong as Deutsche Bank warned of sharp
property-price drops ahead, and the state-run China Securities
Journal reported that the city of Beijing may hike taxes for home
resales, among other curbs.
New World Development Co. (NDVLF) tumbled 4.6%, Sun Hung Kai
Properties Ltd. (SUHJY) lost 3.3%, and China Overseas Land &
Investment Ltd. (0688.HK) fell 3%.
Mortgage lenders HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) and Standard Chartered
PLC are hiking their borrowing rates in Hong Kong, with the move
expected to weigh on the local real-estate market. Shares of HSBC
were flat, while Standard Chartered lost 0.9%.
Deutsche Bank analysts said following the HSBC move that
"mortgage interest rates in Hong Kong could go up even in the
absence of increases in the U.S. interest rates." Hong Kong rates
generally follow those in the U.S., as the Hong Kong dollar is
pegged in value to the U.S. currency.
"With the new government measures, the potential further rises
in mortgage rates, and the expected increases in new supply in the
medium term, we expect property prices to show larger corrections,
and we expect Hong Kong home prices to fall by 15%-20% in the next
24 months," the analysts said.
In mainland Chinese trading, the real-estate losses were more
modest, as the nation's top property developer China Vanke Co. fell
0.6% in Shenzhen, while rival Poly Real Estate Group Co. declined
0.3% in Shanghai.
Australian investors welcomed first-half results from
department-store retailer Myer Holdings Ltd. , sending the firm's
shares up 4.1%.
Over in Sydney, the benchmark index turned briefly positive
after Australian mployment data surprised to the upside, but losses
for miners helped drag it back to negative territory.
Among the big mining names, Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) lost 2.2%, and
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) traded lower by 2.1%.
Similarly, a 2.2% drop for steel maker Posco helped weigh on the South Korean market.
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