Asian stock markets mixed on economic pessimism, Australia takes hung parliament in stride

Asian shares mixed on economic pessimism

BANGKOK — Asian markets were mixed Monday as pessimism about the world economy deepened and Australian stocks faltered on the likelihood of a weak minority government following weekend elections.

The lackluster showing in Asia came after Wall Street closed lower on Friday with sentiment in the doldrums because of the recent string of indicators that show the world’s biggest economy is slowing.

“Markets remain worried about the pace of the global recovery given the spate of weak data out of the U.S. and more recently, from China,” Barclays Capital analysts said in a report.

Shares in Australia were moderately lower after national elections on Saturday gave neither of the major political parties an outright majority in parliament.

The ruling Labour Party and the opposition Liberal Party are now lobbying for the support of independent lawmakers to try to stitch together the nation’s first minority government since World War II.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2 percent to 4,421.00 while the Australian dollar dropped about 0.2 percent against the U.S. dollar.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average shed 0.6 percent to 9,121.27 as a strong yen — which can reduce the profits of Japanese exporters — continued to drag sentiment. As expected, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa discussed on the telephone recent foreign exchange developments, according to Kyodo news agency.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.4 percent to 20,905.46 and Seoul’s Kospi fell 0.5 percent to 1,767.60.

The Shanghai Composite index added 0.1 percent to 2,644.35 and markets in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and India also rose.

Some commodity stocks advanced in Sydney trade on hopes that a proposed mining profits tax would be dropped if the opposition Liberal Party forms the new government. Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. added 0.9 percent, while rival Rio Tinto Ltd. rose 1.2 percent.

In the U.S. on Friday investors found little reason to wade back into stocks. There were no reports to offset Thursday’s disappointing news that growth in the domestic economy continues to slow.

The Dow fell 57.59, or 0.6 percent, to 10,213.62. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.94, or 0.4 percent, to 1,071.69, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.81, or 0.04 percent, to 2,179.76.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 35 cents at $74.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 97 cents to settle at $73.82 a barrel on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 85.34 yen from 85.53 yen late Friday. The euro rose to $1.2711 from $1.2709.