Japanese shares lost ground on Wednesday in a mixed Asian trading session, as investors counted down to the upcoming British vote that will decide whether the U.K. remains in the European Union.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 103.39 points, or 0.6%, to 16,065.72, as stocks were under pressure from a relatively stronger yen.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added 126.68 points, or 0.6%, to 20,795.12
The Japanese yen, which is considered a safe-haven currency, strengthened relatively against the U.S. dollar in the afternoon session, with the pair trading at 104.42, compared with levels around 104.85 earlier. On Tuesday afternoon local time, the yen traded near a 22-month high at 103.57 against the greenback.
Major exporters in Japan closed mostly lower, with shares of Toyota shedding 0.5%, Nissan off 0.8% and Honda down 2.4%. Sony shares declined 1.8%. A stronger yen is a negative for exporters as it reduces their overseas profits when converted into local currency.
SoftBank shares climbed 2.6%, beating the broader index. The Japanese internet and telecommunication giant said its president had resigned.
SoftBank also said in a statement on Tuesday that it would exit Finnish game developer Supercell, selling its entire stake to Chinese technology firm Tencent in a deal that values Supercell at about $10.2 billion U.S.
Security concerns appeared to remain on the back burner, following reports that North Korea fired a second missile on Wednesday that appeared to be an intermediate-range Musudan, according to the South Korean military. Reuters said the reclusive country fired the first missile from its east coast just early morning on Wednesday, but it appeared to have failed.
South Korean defense stocks appeared relatively unaffected by the news; Firstec shares were down 0.4%, Speco shares were down 2.9% and Victek was off by 3.1%.
Britons will head to the polls on Thursday to determine the future of the U.K. within the 28-member trade bloc. A telephone poll conducted by Survation for IG on Monday showed support for the "remain" and "leave" camps were neck-and-neck, compared with a series of weekend polls that suggested momentum tilted in favour of the “remain” campaign.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 gained 27.64 points, or 0.9%, to 3,133.96.
In Korea, the Kospi put on 9.88 points, or 0.5%, to 1,992.58
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index shed 3.32 points, or 0.1%, to 2,786.13
In Taiwan, the Taiex index jumped 31.4 points, or 0.4%, to 8,716.25
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 57.66 points, or 0.8%, to 6,781.74
The ASX 200 eased back 3.42 points, or 0.1%, to 5,270.95
