BBC – May 6, 2016 – The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.7% at midday to 16,031.72, after a 0.4% jump at the open.
The market is trading again after a three-day national holiday,
Meanwhile in Australia the S&P ASX 200 share index was flat at 5,260 points around midday, after having lost 0.9% at the open.
Banking stocks were mixed. Westpac was in the lead with a 0.3% gain. Shares of the country’s biggest lender by assets – National Australia Bank (NAB) were flat, while ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank’s shares traded lower.
As for Macquarie, the bank’s shares traded down 4%, wiping out earlier gains of more than 2%. The Australian lender posted a record annual net profit of A$2.06bn ($1.54bn; £1.06bn) for the year to the end of March. Macquarie said the earnings growth was driven by its wealth management and retail banking operations.
In China the Shanghai composite lost 1.85%, which left the index at 2,942.46.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 266.39 points – or 1.3%, at 20,183.43 at midday.
Markets in South Korea have shut for a long weekend from Thursday, and trading there will resume on Monday.