ASIA MARKETS: Japan Stocks Tumble, Leading Asia Lower

By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Asia markets traded lower early Wednesday, with investors slapping down Japanese stocks after the yen spiked overnight.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average thudded 1.9% lower but held on to the 13,000 level, trading at 13,071.72.

Other major indexes fell more modestly, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 down 0.8%, and South Korea's Kospi losing 0.5%, while New Zealand's NZSX 50 slipping 0.2%.

Markets in China -- including those in Hong Kong and Shanghai -- were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Japan led the losses after the dollar (USDJPY) fell by almost 2 full yen overnight, with the greenback sitting at Yen96.38 in the early Tokyo morning after buying more than Yen98 at Tuesday's Japan stock close.

The currency moves prompted further misery for exporter shares, with Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) down 3.1%, Renesas Electronics Corp. (RNECY) losing 4.1%, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) retreating 3%, and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) down 3.6%.

Among the few gainers, Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) added 0.6% after a Nikkei news report that the conglomerate had secured an order to supply trains for a light-rail project in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.

Wireless provider KDDI Corp. (KDDIF) reversed early mild gains to trade 0.5% lower after Barclays raised its rating on the stock to overweight.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's losses on Wall Street -- with a triple-digit loss for the Dow industrials (DJI) and a 1% fall for the S&P 500 (SPX) -- helped weigh on financials around Asia.

In Tokyo, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MTU) lost 3.4%, Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. (DCNSF) traded 3.6% lower, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (DSEEY) dove 4.4%, and Resona Holdings Inc. (8308.TO) pulled back 4.1%.

Likewise, many Australian banks saw selling, with National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAUBF) down 1.1%, Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK) off 1.9%, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANEWF) losing 1.4%, though Macquarie Group Ltd. (MCQEF) rose 1.2%, building on the previous day's 1.3% advance.

Mining stocks also took a toll on the Sydney market after a decline in many commodity prices, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) down 1.2%, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) slipping 0.2%, and Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) off 0.9% after the gold producer told Australia's securities exchange that it didn't break any share-listing rules related to the timing of the company's recent restructuring announcement.

Early weakness in Australia briefly sent the S&P/ASX 200 into a technical correction, defined as a 10% drop from the most recent high.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF) took another fall, losing 0.7% after dropping 2.5% the previous day amid concerns over sales for its new Galaxy S4 smartphone.

However, Credit Suisse held the shares at outperform, saying the recent losses for Samsung offered a buying opportunity, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

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