By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks fell sharply Friday, the
worst performer in a broadly lower Asia, with the yen rising on
renewed safe-haven buying interest as Cyprus faced a restructuring
deadline and as the new Bank of Japan governor offered few new
details on future policy.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1%, while South Korea's
Kospi and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index .each lost 0.1%.
Helping weigh on sentiment in Asia, U.S. stocks ended lower
Thursday, hurt by ongoing concerns about Cyprus's financial future
and weak euro-zone economic data.
"The European Central Bank gave Cyprus until Monday to sort out
its mess and legislate the bailout program -- otherwise it
threatened to withdraw crucial funding," Perpetual Investments head
of investment research Matthew Sherwood said.
"If the latter occurred, and no new capital sources could be
identified, the Cypriot banking sector would collapse, and it would
be forced out of the euro zone," Sherwood said, referring to the
biggest worry for investors from the evolving situation.
Against that backdrop, the dollar (USDJPY) slid to 94.89 yen
early Friday, down from Yen94.94 late Thursday and well below its
Yen96.03 level late Wednesday.
Japanese companies that translate a significant proportion of
their profit back into yen traded lower, with Advantest Corp ,
(ATE) down 1.8%, Fanuc Corp. (FANUY) falling 3.3%, and Panasonic
Corp. (PC) down 1.4%, also reacting to a Nikkei news report saying
it was negotiating with its labor union to cut bonuses and lengthen
its work week.
Banks were also weak in Tokyo, after new Bank of Japan Gov.
Haruhiko Kuroda failed to offer specifics over the timing and exact
nature of new policy moves at the central bank during his press
briefing late Thursday.
Also in Japan, Seven & I Holdings Co. (SVNDY) fell 1.5%
despite a Nikkei news report tipping the owner of 7-Eleven
convenience stores to post a record operating profit for the year
ended in February.
However, a few higher-end Tokyo-listed retailers managed to
gain, with Aeon Co. (AONNF) adding 0.5%, and J. Front Retailing Co.
moving 0.6% higher.
Retailers lost ground in Australia, with David Jones Ltd. down
2.6% and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. falling 1.3%, although
Billabong International Ltd. rose 5.8% to retrace a portion of
plunge from the previous session.
Contracting firm Leighton Holdings Ltd. fell 6.6% after the firm
announced the resignation of its chairman and two non-executive
directors, over a potential breakdown in its relationship with
major shareholder Hochtief AG
Techs were losing ground in South Korea, with Samsung
Electronics Co. (SSNLF) inching 0.2% lower, and rival SK Hynix Inc.
(HXSCL) down 0.5%.
Shares of SK Telecom Co. (SKM) extended their losses, dropping
3.3%, in the wake of a major cyberattack believed to be the work of
North Korea.
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