Asian stocks decline though China gains a little (MarketWatch) (03-02-2012)

SYDNEY — Asian markets fell on Friday with investors awaiting the key U.S. jobs report due out later in the day, although Chinese stocks managed to turn higher.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8%, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.5%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index shed 0.4%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.2%, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7%. Japanese exporters lost ground, including Yamaha Corp slumping 7% and Honda Motor Co. losing 1.2%.

Telecom shares also declined, with Softbank Corp. losing 3.5% after its quarterly profit came in at half of year-earlier levels.

Sony Corp. rallied 7.4%, as investors had sold down the shares ahead of the announcement.

Sharp Corp. added 1.1% after posting weak quarterly results earlier in the week. Shares in Canon Inc. rose 2.6% after the firm announced a share buy-back.

Source: MarketWatch