Asian markets mixed as Japan faces accounting scandal

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, with Tokyo and Manila up but Shanghai and Hong Kong showing advances.

Shanghai achieved a 2.4 percent rise. Hong Kong hit a three-week high, with the Hang Seng index rising 1 percent.

There were fears in Manila, though that a tax bill would not generate as much revenue as expected, and the Manila composite fell 0.6 percent.

Tokyo saw its third down day in a row, on reports of major financial scandal. Kanebo, a household goods company, admitted that it had discovered accounting fraud that over a five-year period totaled ¥150 billion. Reports said that the firm’s former managers had overstated earnings in one of the largest known accounting frauds in a non-financial company. Kanebo’s stock took a 13.4 percent drop on Wednesday, a four-month low, on investor fears that the company might be forced to drop its listing on the exchange. Oil stocks were also lower in Tokyo on Wednesday, as the Nikkei fell 0.3 percent, ending at 11,637.52. The Topix was also down by 0.3 percent settling at 1,176.39.

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