Asia stocks mostly lower; Nikkei ends down 0.9% on profit-taking

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mostly lower during late Asian trade on Thursday, with shares in Japan coming off a four-year high as investors locked in gains from the previous session’s strong rally.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended up 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.9% lower.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei retreated from the previous session’s four-year high as a pause in the yen’s decline prompted investors to lock in gains on recent outperformers.

Shares in Nikon plunged 19% after the camera-maker cut its operating profit forecast for the current fiscal year by 33% to JPY48 billion, citing slowing demand from Europe.

Yamaha saw shares tumble 15.6% after the piano-maker posted below-forecast results and cut its full-year outlook.

On the upside, Mazda saw shares surge 12% after the automaker lifted its full-year operating profit guidance by 80% to JPY45 billion, boosted by a weaker yen.

Electronics maker Sony closed up 2.6% as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead of the company’s earnings report due out after the closing bell.

The Nikkei has rallied almost 27% since mid-November, when current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began calling for more aggressive monetary easing from the Bank of Japan.

Japanese exporters have been amongst the most notable gainers, as a weaker yen increases the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated, boosting the outlook for export earnings.

Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged lower as investors stayed out of the market ahead of the approaching Chinese New Year holiday.

Hong Kong’s market will be shut for three days next week for the Lunar New Year holidays, while markets in mainland China will be closed for the whole week.

The China banking sector were among the biggest drags on the index, with China Construction Bank shares dropping 1.6% and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China falling 1.4%.

Shares in Lenovo Group rallied 4.6% on news the computer-maker will be included in the 50-component Hang Seng Index next month.

Lenovo will be replacing shares of Aluminum Corporation of China in the benchmark. CHALCO saw shares 3.6%.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index ended higher after National Bank of Australia posted stronger-than-expected earnings.

The lender rose 1.85% after posting a 4% rise in quarterly adjusted earnings.

On the downside, News Corp saw shares drop 3.25% after the media giant cut its fiscal year outlook.

Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a steady open, as investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a flat open, France’s CAC 40 futures were little changed, London’s FTSE 100 futures pointed to a loss of 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.1% at the open.  

The ECB was expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday, but markets were awaiting remarks by President Mario Draghi amid wariness that he could express concerns over the impact of the euro’s recent gains on the region’s economic recovery.

Meanwhile, U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims.