By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks scored their latest
rally Monday, with real-estate stocks rallying on yen weakness and
hopes surrounding Tokyo's deflation-fighting plans, but over in
China, property stocks tumbled to lead the markets lower.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7%, while among the Chinese
benchmarks, the Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.8%, and Hong Kong's
Hang Seng Index declined 0.5%.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi traded down 0.1%, and Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.7%.
The mixed moves for Asian markets came after Wall Street ended
with slight gains Friday, helped by upbeat U.S. data on consumer
confidence and manufacturing. Read: Stocks end session, week on a
high note
After the data, the U.S. dollar (USDJPY) gained Friday,
especially against the yen, with the greenback buying Yen93.56
Monday, just off from Yen93.58 yen in North American trade Friday
but well above late Thursday's Yen92.63 level.
"We expect the Japanese yen to remain weak against the
greenback," said Crédit Agricole strategist Adam Myers, citing
improved U.S. economic data and "investors' easing expectations
being firmly supported by Haruhiko Kuroda's nomination as new Bank
of Japan governor."
The financial and real-estate sectors would likely be among the
biggest beneficiaries if Japan returns to solid inflation, and
property names were particularly strong performers on Monday.
Among them, Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) climbed 3%, Sumitomo
Realty & Development Co. (8830.TO) advanced 4.5%, and
Mitsubishi Estate Co. (MITEF) surged 7.4%.
However, property firms fell sharply in Shanghai and Shenzhen on
Monday, dragging down the rest of the market, with China Vanke Co.
down 8.2%, Gemdale Corp. tanking 9.8% and Poly Real Estate Group
Co. dropping 9.7%.
Those losses came after the Chinese government late Friday
announced fresh measures to take the heat out of the nation's
property sector, including higher down-payments and mortgage rates
in cities that have seen steep rises in property prices.
Property weakness spread to Hong Kong, where China Resources
Land Ltd. lost 6%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.
(CAOVY) traded lower by 3.7%.
Over in the resource sector, Hong-Kong listed Russian metals
giant United Co. Rusal PLC lost 2.5% after the firm said that it
will cut 300,000 tons from its aluminum output by the end of 2013.
The firm also reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Friday's strength in the U.S. dollar worked to
pressure prices for metals in New York, where gold ended at its
worst level since July last year, and copper futures fell to a
three-month low. Read: Gold down a third day, at lowest since
mid-July
Against that backdrop, Sydney-listed miners fell on Monday, with
the sector down 2.1%.
Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) declined 2.4%, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) --
trading ex-dividend -- slipped 1.3% on an adjusted basis, and
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) declined 2.2%.
South Korean stocks received some support from an advance for
market major Samsung Electronics Inc. (SSNLF), which rose 0.9%
after a U.S. court on Friday issued a ruling that slashed the
amount of damages the firm has to pay arch-rival Apple Inc. (AAPL)
by around 43% to just under $600 million.
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