Asia-Pacific markets mostly rebounded Friday, after Thursday’s selloff saw some indexes in the region hit their lowest level in months.
In Japan, the index lost 202.1 points, or 0.5%, to 37,667.41, its lowest since April.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 16.34 points, or 0.1%, to 17,021.31.
Chipmaker Renesas Electronics fell for a second straight day, plunging over 5% on Friday to lead losses in the index. This brought its share price to its lowest level since April.
Renesas saw a 29% drop in net profit for the first half of the year, with Nikkei reporting that President Hidetoshi Shibata admitted that the firm “misjudged demand for industrial equipment.” Unlike most Japanese companies, Renesas’ financial year starts on Jan. 1.
The selloff on Thursday resulted in 760 billion yen ($4.9 billion U.S.) being wiped off its market capitalization in a single day.
Some Japanese automakers also fell, with Nissan down 3.88% after announcing dismal results for its first quarter ended June 30. Operating profit collapsed over 99% year on year, while net profit tumbled 72.9%.
Separately, Reuters reported that Honda will shutter a factory in China and halt production at another plant, intending to start producing more electric vehicles. Honda shares lost 0.28% on Friday.
In Asia, traders also assessed July inflation data out of Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, which is widely considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
Tokyo’s headline inflation slowed slightly to 2.2% in July from 2.3% in May, while its core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — remained unchanged at 2.2%, in line with expectations.
The so called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy and is watched by the Bank of Japan, fell to 1.5% from 1.8%.
The yen will also be closely watched, after it strengthened sharply against the dollar in the past week. The currency is currently trading at 153.9 against the greenback.
Taiwan heavyweights Hon Hai Precision Industry — known as Foxconn internationally — fell 4.7% and chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company lost 5.62%.
Separately, Singapore’s monetary authority announced that it would keep its monetary policy steady, with no changes to its exchange rate settings for the Singapore dollar.
Unlike most economies, Singapore does not use interest rates to control its monetary policy, instead opting to use exchange rate settings to control the strength of the Singapore dollar.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 forged ahead 10.02 points, or 0.4%, to 3,409.29.
In Taiwan, markets returned after several days of shutdown due to a typhoon, and the Taiex index got trampled 752.63 points, or 3.3%, to
22,119.21.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 3.98 points, or 0.1%, to 3,426.47.
In Korea, the Kospi index restocked 21.25 points, or 0.8%, to 2,731.90.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dumped 46.79 points, or 0.4%, to 12,349.48.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 60.66 points, or 0.8%, to 7,921.27.
