asian stock markets october 23 2013

Indonesia stock info - asian stock markets october 23 2013 ; Asian stock markets were mixed in tight ranges Tuesday as investors took cues from modest gains on Wall Street Monday. U.S. stocks recovered towards the end of Monday's trading session as corporate earnings reports trickled in.

The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.2%, with several exporters underperforming the broader market as the yen recovered some ground after its recent weakness against the greenback. Sharp fell 3.1%, Toyota Motor was 0.7% lower and Toshiba lost 1.0%.

The dollar briefly breached the psychologically important Y80 level for the first time in three and a half months, amid growing expectations for the Bank of Japan to further ease policy at its meeting on Oct. 30. The greenback hit Y80.02 early Tuesday, it's highest since July 6. "We may see some up and down on its way, but we expect the dollar will rise to Y81 in one month and Y83 in three months," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Barclays Bank.

However, comments from Japanese finance minister Koriki Jojima Tuesday denying a Sankei Shimbun report that the government has asked the Bank of Japan to boost its asset-buying program by Y20 trillion pushed the pair away from the psychological Y80 level. The pair was at Y79.83 from Y79.95 late Monday in New York.

Kansai Electric Power fell 6.6% on a Nikkei report that it has decided not to pay a dividend at the end of the fiscal year, resulting in no annual distributions for the first time in 61 years. The news also dragged other utilities lower with Tokyo Gas off 0.5% and Chubu Electric Power sliding 4.0%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1%, led higher by gains in resource plays which took heart from some encouraging U.S. earnings reports and a 1.9% rise in spot iron ore prices.

BHP Billiton rose 0.2% and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 2.5%.

South Korea's Kospi Composite was off 0.4% with China-linked companies succumbing to profit-taking: Kumho Petro Chemical slid 3.9% while Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 3.3%.

The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.6% as investors await Chinese Purchasing Managers' Index data due later in the week and as a fall in crude prices to a two-week low in U.S. trade dragged on oil companies.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp fell 2.3% and PetroChina declined 0.3%. December Nymex crude oil futures were 26 cents higher at $88.91 per barrel on Globex. 

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