Nikkei: 10,047.19 (–50.53) Hang Seng: 22,541.69 (–30.39) Shanghai Comp: 2,723.49 (+20.47)ASIAN SHARES struggled to make progress yesterday on concerns about the impact of a US credit rating downgrade if Congress fails to meet the August 2nd deadline on its debt ceiling.
Shares in Tepco fell 15.8 per cent to ¥431 and dragged on other stocks in the sector. Kansai Electric Power shed 3.7 per cent to ¥1,364 and Chubu Electric Power lost 2.6 per cent to ¥1,383.
Investor focus was also on earnings for any impact from the yen’s strength. Orix, the financial services group, rose 2.2 per cent to ¥8,450 after reporting a 44 per cent jump in first-quarter earnings.
Shares in Toyota lost 1.2 per cent to ¥3,255.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics, a chipmaker and consumer electronics group, slid 0.6 per cent to Won845,000 ahead of earnings due tomorrow.
Sony fell 1.4 per cent to ¥2,036.
LG Electronics, the mobile phone maker, climbed 2.6 per cent to Won83,800 after its second-quarter losses were narrower than the market had been expecting.
In Sydney, Aquila Resources rose 3.3 per cent to A$7.26. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)
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