The M2 data indicated that liquidity conditions remained tight last
Toyota Motor fell 2.6% after the automaker projected a weaker-than herve leger strapless dress -expected net profit for the fiscal year ending March 31 at Y280 billion, down 31% on-year, despite expecting a sharp sales rebound in the second half of the year as output ramps up.
Tire makers were also dragged by the Toyota news with Bridgestone down 2.4% and Sumitomo Rubber Industries off 2.4%.
Honda Motor dropped 2.6% after the Nikkei reported Monday the automaker expects global production of around 3.4 million units for the current fiscal year, down 200,000 units from a year earlier due to disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake.
The New Zealand market remained on the defensive after several large aftershocks hit Christchurch earlier Monday, causing some damage and minor injuries.
The New Zealand dollar tumbled on the news, and was recently fetching US$0.8129, from US$0.8215 before the aftershocks. Christchurch has been hit by two large earthquakes recently, the first on Sept. 4 and a second on Feb. 22– the second earthquake killed more than 180 people and devastated the downtown area.
In China, ongoing concerns about further tightening from Beijing dented the share market. Data out Monday added to the negative sentiment, with China’s broadest measure of money supply, M2, rising 15.1% at the end of May black herve leger from a year earlier, lower than the 16.6% rise at the end of April.
The M2 data indicated that liquidity conditions remained tight last month, and “the market may continue to be weighed by a liquidity squeeze as the central bank is likely to keep up its tightening efforts in the near future amid inflation concerns,” said Huatai Securities analyst Zhou Lin.
Ping An Insurance fell 2.2% and PetroChina lost 1.7%.
The Seoul market was choppy, weighed by foreign selling for the third straight day.
Hyundai Motor added 0.4% after news it resumed production at its Asan plant Saturday after coming to an agreement with the company’s labor union. The Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, was halted around 0540 GMT Thursday after an employee committed suicide at the plant.
Elsewhere in the region, New Zealand’s NZX-50 shed 0.4%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.7%, Malaysia’s KLCI was off 0.5%, Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.5% lower, India’s Sensex was down 0.7%, Philippine shares lost 1.1% and Thailand’s SET fell 1.0%.
In the foreign exchange markets, the euro stabilized after the single currency posted its deepest one-day selloff in a month Friday as investors sought shelter in the safe-harbor dollar and persistent fears about the Greek debt crisis weighed. The dollar also benefited from the ‘risk-off” sentiment amid worries about the global growth outlook. And while the yen–considered a safe-haven play–eased on the back of the weak domestic machinery orders data, some expect the Japanese currency to rise in the near term. “The dollar/yen is likely to test the downside near the 79 level this week, driven by yen-buying in crosses amid weak stock markets around the globe,” said Yoshio Yoshida, a trader at Mizuho Trust and Banking.
Against the dollar, the euro was fetching $1.4343 from $1.4350 late Friday in New York and Y115.50 against the yen, from Y115.23. The dollar was at Y80.54 from Y80.34.
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