Asian shares mixed after Evergrande sale deal called off

Shares are mixed in Asia after major Chinese property developer Evergrande said a plan to sell its property management arm to a smaller rival had fallen through.

Shares slipped in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo, while they rose in Australia and Shanghai.

China Evergrande Group's shares tumbled 12.5% while shares in Evergrande Property Services slipped 8%. In a notice to the Hong Kong exchange Evergrande said it was having difficulties selling off assets to resolve its cash crunch.

Hopson Development Holdings' shares rose 12.4% after it said was unable to complete the purchase. Trading of shares in all three companies was suspended pending a resolution of the transaction.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.6% lower to 25,990.32 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 3,594.78.

Some “verbal assurances by government officials and loosening of home loans for some of its major banks suggest that the authorities are monitoring the property market risks, hoping to reassure markets of the knock-on impact on the economy," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei slipped 1.9% to finish at 28,708.58, as the world's third largest economy headed into nationwide elections to select a new prime minister.

The candidate from Japan’s ruling party, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has given mixed messages about his policies, and his “new capitalism” measures, which include promises to reduce income disparities. That has done little to reassure markets so far.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 7,415.40. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% to 3,007.33.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose was steady at 1.65%.

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