Asian stocks decline over US gridlock; Nikkei ends week 5% lower
Japanese shares led declines in Asia on the final trading day of the week after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and as the U.S. government shutdown dragged into a fourth day.
The ended at a one-month low while Australia's S&P ASX 200 and Seoul's Kospi posted modest losses and Indian stocks were flat. Chinese markets remain shut for public holidays.
For the week, the Nikkei lost 5 percent while the S&P ASX 200 fell 2 percent.
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| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 38,646.11 | -457.11 | -1.17% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 18,608.94 | -259.77 | -1.38% |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7,727.60 | -84.20 | -1.08% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | SHANGHAI | 3,088.87 | -27.52 | -0.88% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | KOSPI | 2,687.60 | -34.21 | -1.26% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 9,689.74 | -89.39 | -0.91% |
US worries remain
Without a non-farm payrolls report to focus on as a result of the U.S. government shutdown, attention remained fixed on Congress' ongoing political stalemate.
On Friday, President Obama canceled a week-long Asia trip due to the government shutdown. His decision comes as worries rise about the impact of America's budget impasse on the rest of the world. Speaking in Washington overnight, the IMF's Christine Lagarde said the failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling could hurt the global economy and warned U.S. growth could drop below 2 percent this year.
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Meanwhile, Wall Street shares ended lower overnight after gunshots were fired outside Washington's Capitol building. A female suspect was shot after she initially tried to ram her car into the White House gate, according to sources.
Nikkei down 0.9%
Japan's share market closed at its lowest levels since September 9 after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) stood pat at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. The central bank revised up its view on capital expenditure and said the economy was recovering modestly.
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The yen was little changed around 97.1 per dollar following the decision after hitting a five-week high of 96.9 overnight. That caused a tumble of over 3 percent for consumer electronic stocks Sharp and Panasonic.
Retailers extended losses with Fast Retailing down 2 percent ahead of kicking off earnings season next week while Daiei shed 1.4 percent.
Sydney 0.5% lower
Australian stocks snapped seven straight weeks of weekly gains due to broad-based declines in resources as copper and gold headed for weekly losses.
Global miners BHP Billiton closed down 1.3 percent while Kingsgate Consolidated fell 2.4 percent.
Home builders fell after Moodys said national property prices could face a correction after data showed home prices jumped over 5 percent in the second quarter from 2012. James Hardie led losses by 0.8 percent
Separately, builder Leighton Holdings fell 4.5 percent following the previous day's 10 percent slump on reports of corruption and bribery.
Kospi slips 0.1%
South Korean equities erased early gains to track Asia-wide losses as markets resumed trade after being shut on Thursday for a public holiday.
Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics closed flat following an initial 1 percent spike after estimating its third-quarter operating profit at 10 trillion won ($9.4 billion), topping average forecasts.
Automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors rallied 0.8 and 2.2 percent, respectively as a stronger Japanese yen boosted their competitive advantage in overseas markets.
The Kospi briefly fell below 1,991 points to hit a three-week low earlier in the session.
— By CNBC.com's Nyshka Chandran. Follow her on Twitter @NyshkaCNBC