Asian Shares Split After Mixed Data

Updated Oct. 31, 2013 11:00 p.m. ETStocks in Asia pointed in different directions Friday as a grim earnings report from Sony Corp. 6758.TO -11.13% Sony Corp. Japan: Tokyo ¥1668 -209 -11.13% Nov. 1, 2013 3:00 pm Volume : 69.97M P/E Ratio 23.76 Market Cap ¥1983.79 Billion Dividend Yield 1.50% Rev. per Employee ¥47,835,800 11/01/13 Timeline: Sony’s Turnaround Bi… 11/01/13 The Diverging Fates of Japan’s… 11/01/13 The Diverging Fates of Japan’s… More quote details and news » 6758.TO in Your Value Your Change Short position weighed on trade in Tokyo while better-than-expected export data boosted stocks in Seoul.
Sony Corp. shares slid 11%, wiping out roughly $2 billion in market value, after the electronics and entertainment company reported a wider loss for the September quarter and slashed its profit forecast for the year by 40%. Sony doesn’t appear to have implemented any drastic change at its electronics operations and there could be further problems down the line, said Koki Shiraishi, analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9% amid a firmer yen. The Japanese currency, which briefly broke the 97 handle in Asian trade, was last trading around ¥98.09 to the dollar versus ¥98.36 late Thursday in New York.
South Korea was a bright spot in the region after the country reported a stronger-than-expected 7.3% rise in exports last month. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal on average expected a 4.5% rise. Imports rose 5.1%, also more than expected.
Investors have flocked to South Korean stocks since late summer, attracted by the country’s strong finances and stable currency. The benchmark Kospi index rose 0.5% Friday, the biggest gainer in Asian trade.
Stocks in Hong Kong and China registered modest gains despite concerns surrounding China’s factory sector last month.
In official data released Friday, China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.4 in October from 51.1 in September, indicating expansion and surpassing economist expectations.
A closer look at the report showed a sizeable gap between large and small manufacturers, with the latter reporting a contraction in activity for the month.
“Although the PMI rose in October for the fourth consecutive month, the momentum driving the increase is unbalanced,” said Zhao Qinghe, a spokesman for China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Pressure is rising on China to show that it can maintain a recent stabilization of economic growth after a worrying slowdown in the first half of the year.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.4%.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%.
–Brad Frischkorn contributed to this article.
Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@wsj.com

Original post: Asian Shares Split After Mixed Data