Japanese equities led Asian markets down, depressed by an announcement by airbag manufacturer Takata that it was considering a bankruptcy plan.
Takata’s shares dropped almost 20%. Yahoo Japan was a major drag on the Japanese averages after the company projected profits of 175-185 billion yen this year, well below analysts’ median estimate of 228 billion. Yahoo said investments in e-commerce infrastructure would weigh on earnings.
Around Asia, most markets saw modest losses, with the Philippines registering the sharpest decline (at 0.85%). A nearly 3% decline in Globe Telecom, the country’s largest mobile provider, brought down the overall index. In the absence of news, Globe’s decline looks like profit-taking after a strong run since last December. Globe was selling at just 13x forward earnings in mid-November but traded today at 18x forward earnings.