Asian stocks drift lower on weak earnings Asian stocks drifted lower as investors were reluctant to take on risky assets ahead of US jobs data later in the day, while downbeat corporate earnings sapped sentiment. The FTSE Asia Pacific index was down 0.1 per cent to 240.86 in late Asian trade, driven primarily by a 0.5 per cent fall to 8,831.93 for Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average. Corporate earnings continued to sway investor sentiment with many companies posting weaker quarterly results and presenting a downbeat outlook amid the global economic slowdown. Honda Motors lost 1.2 per cent to Y2,688 after cutting its fiscal year earnings forecasts earlier this week while Softbank declined 3.6 per cent to Y2,149 after its third quarter net profit halved year on year. But Sony bucked the trend, surging 10.5 per cent to Y1,435 as the replacement of its chief executive sparked turnround hopes. Kazuo Hirai, a 51-year-old Sony veteran known for reviving the PlayStation gaming operation, will replace Howard Stringer as chief executive in April. The electronics group reported a third-quarter loss and downgraded its full year forecast. Panasonic joined Sony in predicting wider losses for its full year, saying it now expected a record Y780bn annual net loss. The shares ended the session up 1.2 per cent to Y599 ahead of the earnings update. BNP Paribas was downbeat on Japanese equities, recommending investors go short on the Nikkei, citing the strong yen. "The combination of the rally in the yen with a trend for defensiveness is further hurting the Nikkei," it said in a report. Shipbuilders lost ground in Seoul following poor earnings for Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries - the world's two biggest shipbuilders by sales. Samsung Heavy slid 3 per cent to Won35,600 and Hyundai Heavy dropped 7.7 per cent to Y293,000. The Seoul Composite index fell 0.6 per cent to 1,972.34. Chinese stocks, however, managed to hold onto their gains, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbing 0.1 per cent to 20,756.98 and the mainland Shanghai Composite gaining 0.8 per cent to 2,330.4.