Market Update
Asian markets were mostly lower Wednesday although Japanese shares moved off lows on a weakened yen.
Still, the Nikkei was down 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% while the Hang Seng changed directions a couple of times and last traded half a percent higher. The Sensex edged 0.1% lower while the All Ordinaries declined 0.3%.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks ended mostly flat in quiet trading ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Thursday.
Stocks on the Move
Panasonic gained over 4% on a Nikkei report that said the company plans to sell three semiconductor plants in in Japan to Israeli chip maker TowerJazz.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. was up 0.3% also after a report in the same newspaper that said the company, along with ArcelorMittal, is to jointly acquire an automotive steel-sheet plant in the U.S. from ThyssenKrupp.
Index heavyweight Sony was up 1.6%.
In Hong Kong, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group shone 2.1% on results reported after market close yesterday.
Lenovo was down 0.7% following HP’s results that showed a drop in sales although profit exceeded expectations.
Airtel fell 2% in Mumbai, followed by BHEL and SSLT, down 1.6% each, respectively.
Construction materials manufacturer James Hardie strengthened 2.8% in Sydney after upbeat housing data from the U.S. where the company has a strong presence.