Asian shares mixed on US data, power worries

HONG KONG, (AFP) -  Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday as the fillip provided by positive data out of the United States was tempered in Japan by worries over power supplies.

Better-than-anticipated jobs figures released by Washington on Friday, which helped Wall Street, gave an initial boost to the region, but analysts said eurozone debt worries were still hampering markets.

Officials from Greece and Germany were forced to issue a denial Friday that debt-riddled Athens might leave the single currency after a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel.

“Risk aversion remains slightly elevated, suggesting that an overall cautious tone will remain over coming days,” Credit Agricole said in a note to clients.

Tokyo’s Nikkei ended down 0.66 percent, or 64.82 points, at 9,794.38 and Seoul finished 0.39 percent, or 8.28 points, lower at 2,139.17.

Sydney climbed 0.29 percent, or 13.8 points, to 4,756.8 and Hong Kong rose 0.90 percent in the afternoon while Shanghai gained 0.28 percent.

Investors in Japan were spooked by renewed worries over electricity shortages after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, located near an earthquake fault line southwest of Tokyo, to suspend its operations.

“Japan will need to reassess its nuclear power policy, which may impose tough options for electric power companies,” said Masayoshi Yano, a senior market analyst at Meiwa Securities, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Tokyo had started the morning well, climbing in opening trade on the back of US market moves, but soon ran out of steam.

On Friday, buying on Wall Street was sparked by data showing a net 244,000 non-farm jobs were added to the US economy in April.

The private sector created a net 268,000 positions, with a strong surge in hiring in the services sector easily offsetting local and federal job losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 54.57 points (0.43 percent) to 12,638.74 on Friday.

Crude was higher in Asian trade Monday, clawing back some of the ground it lost in sharp sell-offs last week.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose $1.47 to $98.65 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained $1.73 to $110.86.

Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst from Purvin and Gertz international energy consultancy, said prices were rising as they were “primarily reacting to the very sharp loss late last week, which was too much and too fast”.

The current price level was seen as a buying opportunity, he added.

On the currency markets the euro firmed against the dollar.

“A Greek exit (of the) monetary union remains highly unlikely, but the odds must be recognised above zero,” the private bank Brown Brothers Harriman said in a note to clients.

The euro fetched $1.4378 from an earlier low of 1.4338. The single currency traded at 115.94 yen, up from 115.42 late Friday in New York. The dollar was unchanged at 80.62 yen.

Gold opened at $1,494.50-$1,495.50, up from its Friday close of $1,481.00-$1,482.00, after the market showed signs of recovering from the precious metals sell-off at the back end of last week.

In other markets:

-- Taipei rose 0.65 percent, or 58.25 points, to 9.035.48.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.67 percent higher at Tw$75.5 while Taiwan Cement gained 2.97 percent to Tw$39.85.

-- Manila ended 0.90 percent, or 38.08 points, higher at 4,257.15.

San Miguel gained 6.5 percent to 116.60 pesos, Lepanto Consolidated Mining was up 4.9 percent at 85 centavos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 2.5 percent to 2,406.

-- Wellington closed 0.36 percent, or 12.63 points, higher at 3,518.98.

Air New Zealand rose 0.9 percent to NZ$1.14, Fletcher Building gained 0.2 percent to NZ$8.98 and Telecom fell 0.9 percent to NZ$2.20.