SINGAPORE -- Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday amid ongoing concerns over European debt. Financial stocks were down in Australia, and some exporters suffered in Japan.
Traders said concerns about European sovereign debt continue to dent demand with fiscal problems in Greece, Spain and Portugal hurting risk appetite.
"I really think that we're not going to get any sustainable movement upwards in equity markets until this European (debt) situation has been sorted out," said Justin Gallagher, RBS head of sales in Sydney.
"European officials have been saying they're comfortable that Greece, in particular, will be able to get themselves back on track over a period of time, but the market is just not going to cop that," he added.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.7% lower and South Korea's Kospi Composite was up 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.1%, Taiwan's main index was up 1.8% and the Shanghai Composite was 0.6% higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 6 points higher in screen trade.
But some traders said investors now seemed less worried that Europe's problems will hurt the global economy.
"While Europe's debt woes are still simmering away in the background, it seems that investors are less fearful the swelling deficits will prove problematic for the global economy," said Danica Hampton, currency strategist at the Bank of New Zealand.
Australian resources and financial stocks were lower, with Rio Tinto losing 0.7%, while ANZ bank lost 1.5% and Westpac bank dropped 1.7%. Macquarie sank 6.5% -- the bank said profit for the second half of its year had the potential to rise 10% from the first half, but some analysts were expecting a stronger earnings outlook.
South Korean stocks were higher, rebounding after falling nearly 4.0% in the last two sessions. Financials were particularly strong in Seoul with KB Financial up 5.3%, Shinhan Financial 4.1% higher and Woori Finance up 3.1%.
Kumho Industrial and Kumho Tire were both up by their 15% daily limit, while Asiana Airlines surged 12.6% after the owner-family of Kumho Asiana Group Monday agreed to offer their private wealth as collateral, paving the way for creditors to push forward the group's restructuring process.
Japanese exporters were hurt by fears about the global recovery. Canon was off 0.4%, Toshiba down 2.6% and Advantest lost 1.7%.
Among other Tokyo-listed shares, Daikin was up 0.9% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was up 2.4%. Toyota Motor was up 1.8% on bargain hunting after its sharp losses recently, despite a Nikkei report that said it would suspend domestic production of its Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrids at the end of the week. The hybrids were to be recalled for faulty brakes, the report said.
In Hong Kong, news that Husky Energy Inc. made its third significant gas discovery in the South China Sea helped push CNOOC shares 1.8% higher. Husky started exploring offshore China in 2002 and signed a Petroleum contract for a block in the South China sea in 2004. Under the contract, CNOOC has the right to participate in any field development projects for up to 51% working interest.
In Singapore, the highlight was Singapore Telecomunications, which jumped 2.4% after the company posted a better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter net profit on the back of strong results from Indonesian associate PT Telkomsel and favorable foreign exchange rates.
Southeast Asia's largest telecommunications firm by revenue said that net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was S$990.7 million, up 24% on year, and better than the S$961.2 million tipped by the average forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of six analysts.
Elsewhere, New Zealand's NZX-50 was down 0.6%, Philippine shares fell 1.6%, Malaysian shares were down 0.7%, while Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.1%, Thai shares were down 0.9% and India's Sensex was down 0.1%.
Foreign exchange majors traded in tight ranges. Sentiment was still weighed by concerns about European sovereign debt. With EU leaders due to meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the economic outlook, many investors were watching to see if they would address recent Greek problems.
The euro was at $1.3669 from $1.3659 in late New York trade Monday, and at 122.15 yen from 121.97 yen. The U.S. dollar was at 89.36 yen, from 89.30 yen.
Japanese government bonds were higher. Demand for safe haven assets was lifted by concerns of more weakness in global equity markets after the DJIA Monday closed below the psychologically-key 10,000 mark for first time in three months.
Lead March Japanese government bond futures were up 0.07 at 139.17 points and the benchmark 10-year cash bond was yielding 1.350%, down 0.5 basis points.
The three-month London Metals Exchange copper futures contract was at $6,373 per ton, down $73 from the London afternoon kerb. Spot gold was at $1,064.50 per troy ounce, up $3.10 from the New York close.
March Nymex crude oil futures were 32 cents lower at $71.57 per barrel on Globex.
