Asia troubled by eurozone concerns Asian shares were mixed amid lingering concerns about Europe's debt crisis and weaker than expected trade data from China, although sentiment was boosted by gains for Toyota and Central Glass after positive profit guidance. The FTSE Asia Pacific index was flat at 231.75 in late trade, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 per cent to 4295.55. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 0.4 per cent to 9009.65, at one point falling below 9,000 for the first time since February. South Korea's Kospi Composite index receded 0.3 per cent to 1944.93. Concerns about Spanish banks increased as Madrid attempted to nationalise part of Bankia, Spain's third-largest bank by assets. In Greece politicians were struggling to form a government, raising the prospect of insolvency. "Greek and European issues remain at the forefront," said analysts at Barclays Capital. However, it appears that political uncertainty is here to stay and that, combined with weak economic prospects, should keep market concerns elevated. In Tokyo, Toyota Motor gained 0.8 per cent to Y3,170, after forecasting net profit to more than double this fiscal year, reaching a five-year high. Hitachi advanced 1.7 per cent to Y484 after the electronics maker reported earnings that beat its own estimates. Tokyo Electric Power rose 6.5 per cent to Y196 as the government said it planned to inject Y1tn into the owner of the Fukushima nuclear plant, effectively nationalising the group. Central Glass advanced 3.6 per cent to Y314 as it expects operating profit to jump 54.5 per cent in the financial year because of cost saving and higher overseas demand. Japanese social gaming companies bounced back after saying they would stop the gambling aspects of their online services amid regulatory pressure. Gree rebounded 2.4 per cent to Y1,527 and DeNA climbed 7.1 per cent to Y2,072 after their shares dropped this week. Mitsubishi Steel tumbled 9.2 per cent to Y218 after it announced an expected 38.7 per cent drop in operating profit in the year because of slowing demand from China. In Seoul, concerns about Europe pressured LG Display. The flat panel maker, which depends on Europe for about one-fifth of sales, slid 2.4 per cent to Won22,900. Korea Life Insurance lost 2.3 per cent to Won6,810 after local brokerages cut their stock price targets. OCI, South Korea's biggest maker of polysilicon, dipped 2.3 per cent to Won217,500 amid falling polysilicon prices. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.5 per cent to 20,227.28, its lowest close since April 11 on concerns over Europe and signs of a slowdown from China's economy after trade data for April showed slower than expected import and export growth. In addition to China's data, lower oil prices weighed on energy producers with Cnooc off 0.9 per cent to HK$15.22, PetroChina down 2.1 per cent to HK$10.52 and China Petroleum & Chemical, also known as Sinopec, 1.8 per cent lower at HK$7.73. The Shanghai Composite index remained relatively flat, gaining 0.1 per cent to 2410.23. In Sydney, mining stocks rebounded after Rio Tinto said it was more confident about commodities demand, in spite of weaker copper prices. Rio Tinto gained 1.2 per cent to A$61.94 and gold producer Newcrest Mining jumped 5.6 per cent to A$25.13. Mirabela Nickel extended losses, falling 13.3 per cent to A$0.26, as the company said it was considering its capital-raising alternatives. News Corp jumped 4.6 per cent to A$20.16 after reporting a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and the board approved another $5bn share buyback.