English Lessons

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A slew of poor U.S. data and lack of fresh drivers prompted investors to shy away from taking aggressive bets on stocks in Asia on Friday, though some scattered buying were seen in some counters such as technology and consumer durables.

The FTSE CNBC Asia 100 Index [.FTFCNBCA  6814.26    -10.52  (-0.15%)], which measures markets across Asia, inched 0.1 percent lower.

Japan's stock average nudged lower in thin trade as major investors stuck to the sidelines saying the market may stay stuck in its recent range as debate over the future of the power industry weighs on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei average [.N225  9607.08    -13.74  (-0.14%)   ] closed down 0.14 percent at 9,607.08, while the broader Topix shed 0.5 percent to 827.77.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) closed 2.5 percent higher ahead of its results. After the market closed, it reported a net loss of $15 billion to account for the disaster at its Fukushima nuclear power plant, the biggest corporate loss in Japan outside of the financial sector.

The company said President Masataka Shimizu, 66, will step down to take responsibility for the disaster and radiation leaks at the plant, making way for an insider, managing director Toshio Nishizawa, to take over.

But Internet stocks rose after social networking service provider LinkedIn's [LNKD  93.09    -1.16  (-1.23%)   ] shares more than doubled in their public trading debut. Mixi rose 0.1 percent while Gree gained 3.5 percent.

Industrial conglomerate Toshiba rose 0.9 percent after the company announced it would buy Swiss-based smart meter maker Landis+Gyr for $2.3 billion dollars, including debt, in a bid to expand its presence in the growing smart grid market.

Seoul shares rebounded after sharp falls in the previous session, but a seventh straight session of foreign selling capped gains.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) [.KS11  2111.50    15.99  (+0.76%)   ] finished up 0.76 percent at 2,111.50 points.

Banks and construction plays underperformed after South Korea's financial supervisor said additional real estate project financing loans might go sour due to the prolonged slump in the property market.

Shares in Woori Finance fell 0.4 percent and Shinhan Financial slipped 0.42 percent. Hyundai Engineering & Construction lost 1.3 percent and Joongang Construction ended flat.

Hana Financial bucked the banking sector trend, rising 4.2 percent after news it and U.S. buyout fund Lone Star were weighing extending the deadline for Hana's $4.1 billion takeover deal of Korea Exchange Bank.

Australia Shares End Down; Miners Hit

Australian stocks closed 0.5 percent weaker after easing commodity prices dragged down the mining sector although the sentiment remained positive following solid gains for the week.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively after prices for gold, oil and base metals all fell overnight after a mixed bag of U.S. data spooked investors.

Pallet operator Brambles rose 1.4 percent after reaffirming guidance and reporting higher third quarter revenues on Thursday.

Qantas shares were little impacted by news one of its aircraft returned to Bangkok after an engine was shut down. The stock closed 0.5 percent lower. Virgin Australia fell 1.6 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index [AU;XJO  4732.20    -24.20  (-0.51%)] closed down 24.21 points at 4,732.2.

What was the reason investors shied away from taking aggressive bets on stocks in Asia on Friday?

A. Great news from Africa.

B. Bad news from Brazil.

C. poor U.S. data.

Did  Rio Tinto fall 1.7 percent?

A. TRUE.

B. FALSE.