Asian markets came under pressure on Friday, closing mixed despite a positive finish on Wall Street overnight, as a newly weaker U.S. dollar brought fresh concerns.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 225.4 points, or 1.3%, to 16,819.59, on the back of a stronger yen. The index has shed 5.9% since Monday.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 105.08 points, or 0.6%, to 19,288.17
The U.S. dollar-yen pair fell to the 116-handle, at 116.82 in afternoon trade; earlier this week, the pair was trading above 120.
Japanese exporters closed mostly down, with Toyota, Nissan and Honda seeing losses up upwards of 3.3%. Toyota reported an operating profit of 722 billion yen ($6.18 billion U.S.) in the October-December period, down 5.3% on-year, after market close.
The Japanese car maker also reported a net profit of 1.89 trillion yen, up 9.2%, on year, for the first nine months of the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2015.
Australian markets closed down with the financial sector losing 0.7%. Energy and materials sectors finished in positive territory, buoyed by gains in commodities.
Mining stocks in Australia ended mixed, with Rio Tinto gaining 3.2%,and BHP Billiton up 4.9%, boosted by upticks in commodity prices this week. Smaller miners Atlas Iron saw losses of 7.7% and BC Iron off 1.3%.
In Japan, shares of Nikon traded up 4.6%, after initially surging as much as 7.5%, after the company reported a 28% increase in its net profit for April-December period.
Toshiba shares plunged 11.2% as the company projected a bigger-than-expected loss in the middle of mounting restructuring costs, following a $1.3-billion U.S. accounting scandal last year. Reports said Toshiba predicted it would record a net loss of 710 billion yen ($6 billion U.S.) for the full fiscal year ending in March, up from their initial prediction of 550-billion-yen loss.
Sharp shares finished up 10% as talks over the troubled electronics maker's future remain up in the air. Yesterday, the Japanese broadcaster NHK initially reported that Sharp had accepted a takeover offer by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, and rejected a rescue plan by a Japanese state-backed fund after months of uncertainty over its fate.
Foxconn offered to invest over 700 billion yen ($5.94 billion U.S.) in Sharp, according to NHK. Later Reuters reported Sharp said no final decision has been made to be rescued by Foxconn, but that a source said Foxconn gained negotiating rights.
In Korea, Kakao shares were down 0.4% after seesawing between gains of 0.9% and losses of as much as 1.2%. The technology company, which operates South Korea's dominant mobile messaging app, reported a net profit of 10.2 billion won ($8.6 million U.S.) in the fourth quarter, plunging some 80% from a year earlier.
Energy plays were mixed, with Australia's Santos closing up 2.2%; Woodside Petroleum finished up 0.4%. In Japan, Inpex closed up 1.2%, while South Korea's S-Oil retraced losses to gain 1.2%. Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC were up 2.3%, while A-shares of China Oilfield gained 4.2%.
CHINA
In China, indexes gave up their marginal gains on the final trading day ahead of the Lunar New Year, when markets will remain closed for a week starting February 8.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 docked 20.97 points, or 0.7%, to 2,963.79
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan were shuttered for holiday
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 64.72 points, or 2.5%, to 2,623.21
The Kospi in Korea inched up 1.53 points, or 0.1%, to 1,917.79
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 16.09 points, or 0.3%, to 6,153.80
In Australia, the ASX 200 index dropped 4.18 points, or 0.1%, to 4,976.18
