2013.08.1506:17:04UTC+00Japan stocks slump; Hong Kong skyrocket after storm

Japanese and Taiwanese stocks slump on Thursday trading action after a retreat on Wall Street, while Hong Kong equities climbs on the back of results from Lenovo Group Ltd. and Li & Fung Ltd., and a hike in gold prices limited declines for Australian shares.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average relinquished 0.9%, and Taiwan’s Taiex surrendered 1%.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index marched 0.3% higher in choppy trade, while the Shanghai Composite bolstered 0.2%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.1% lower after also moving in both directions. The South Korean market was closed for a holiday.

The mixed performance came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday dropped more than 100 points for the first time since June, amid concerns about surging Treasury yields, and some weak results. A steep decline in shares of technology major and Dow component Cisco Corp. in after-hours trade also weighed on Asia.

“The old adage that fear sells couldn’t be truer at the moment. Chatter around a potential 1987-type crash or a looming market top in U.S. equities is growing louder by the day,” said Rivkin analyst Tim Radford.

However, “as long as the big investors are confident in the U.S. economy and the U.S. equity market, we shouldn’t see an overly big selloff from current levels in the near term,” he said.

Losses in Tokyo surfaced across several sectors, coming as the U.S. dollar moved under the ¥98-level.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. backslide 2.3%, Panasonic Corp. skidded 2.5%, Fast Retailing Co. sank 1.2%, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. recorded a 2.9% decrease, and telecommunications major Softbank Corp. diminished 2.2%.

In Sydney, gold miners climbed after the metal’s prices up 1% overnight. Shares of Newcrest Mining Ltd. shot 3.4% higher, and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. soared 5.7%.

Shares of AMP Ltd. edged up 3.9% after the company said first-half underlying profit missed 9% but still came in above its projections made earlier.

In Hong Kong, a slew of blue-chips were in focus after reporting results.

Shares of personal-computer maker Lenovo flew 2.9% following a 23% increase in its fiscal-first-quarter profit, and logistics firm Li & Fung spiked 8.7% as investors cheered its outlook despite a sharp drop in half-yearly profits.

Internet major Tencent Holdings Ltd. diminished 1.1%, and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. backed 1.3% down after both firms’ profits fell short of estimates.