Asian shares mixed after Japan prime minister resigns, Wall Street falls on oil investigation

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Asian shares mixed on Japan, US cues

SINGAPORE — Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday after a fall on Wall Street and amid news Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is resigning after just eight months as the nation’s leader.

It was the second day of losses for the region’s markets. A negative cue came from Wall Street, where stocks dived late in the session after the government said it was starting criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

In Seoul, the Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 1,630.40, China’s Shanghai benchmark dropped 1 percent to 2,542.03, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.6 percent to 19,620.55.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 35.71 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,747.54 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 4,424.50.

The Japanese prime minister faced growing pressure from within his Democratic Party of Japan to resign ahead of July’s upper house elections after his approval ratings had plummeted over his broken campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa.

Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to resign in four years.

On Tuesday, the Dow fell 112.61, or 1.1 percent, to 10,024.02. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 18.70, or 1.7 percent, to 1,070.71, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 34.71, or 1.5 percent, to 2,222.33.

In currencies, the dollar gained to 91.60 yen from 90.98 yen late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.2246 from $1.2204.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was down 15 cents at $72.44 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.