By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Most Asian stocks dropped in choppy
trade Wednesday as investors awaited details of discussions at the
Federal Reserve's last policy meeting to gauge when the U.S.
central bank might pare its bond purchases.
The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average gave up early gains to drop
0.8% by late morning.
The sharp reversal was aided by shares of Tokyo Electric Power
Co. (TKECY), which plunged 8.8% in Tokyo following media reports
that a leak of about 300 metric tons (660,000 pounds) of highly
radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant would prompt the government to declare the incident as
"serious."
Several exporters also retreated as the yen strengthened against
the U.S. dollar (USDJPY), with Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) falling 2%,
and Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) declining 1.4%.
Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.3%, Hong Kong's
Hang Seng Index lost 1.4% and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.8%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.2%, as an advance for
banks helped overcome post-earnings declines for mining giant BHP
Billiton Ltd. and energy producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
The release of the Fed minutes "will be crucial in determining
whether the theme of bond-market volatility will continue, seeing
yields possibly surge higher and place added pressure on global
market participants," said Rivkin Securities analyst Tim
Radford.
The performance in Asia came after the S&P 500 index
(SPX)halted its longest losing streak of 2013 Tuesday, following
better-than-expected earnings from retailers such as Best Buy Co.
(BBY), although the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped for
a fifth straight trading day.
Several financial and property developers retreated in Hong Kong
ahead of the Fed meeting minutes, with AIA Group Ltd. (AAGIY)
falling 2.2%, and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. (HLPPY) dropping
2.6%.
Shares of Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) rose 3.6% in the downbeat market
after its profit rose 7.9% in the first half of the year, driven by
increased oil and gas output.
In Sydney, meanwhile, shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 2.3%
after the mining giant reported a 30% drop in profit for the fiscal
year ended June 30 amid subdued commodity prices.
Woodside (WOPEY) also shed 2.3% after the energy producer cut
its projection for full-year output, even as it posted a 7.5%
increase in profit for the first half of the year.
But financials advanced to support the broader market, with
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUY) rising 1% to recover some
recent losses, while Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQBKY) advanced
1.5%.
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