|
Asian Markets End In Negative Territory On Economic Concerns
The markets across Asia ended in negative territory on Friday, taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended lower on concerns about sustaining the economic recovery following weak economic data. Strengthening of the dollar and drop in commodity prices also impacted market sentiment as traders preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch attitude and moved to sidelines locking gains from recent rally.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 51.79 points, or 0.5%, to 9497.68, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues rose 1.00 point, or 0.1%, to 839.
On the economic front, the policy board of the Bank of Japan unanimously decided to retain the overnight call rate at 0.1%, in line with the expectations of economists. The last change in the rate was a 0.1% cut in interest rates at the December 2008 meeting.
In an accompanying statement, the central bank said, "Japan's economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although the momentum of self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand remains weak. In the conduct of monetary policy, the bank will aim to maintain the extremely accommodative financial environment."
Technology stocks declined after Dell reported a 54% drop in net profit for the third quarter. Advantest fell 2.87% and Tokyo Electron lost 2.99%.
Automotive stocks ended lower following weaker closing in Wall Street on concerns about recovery. Toyota Motor Corp declined 1.43%, Suzuki Motor fell 1.44%, Nissan Motor lost 2.82%, Honda Motor slipped 0.55%, and Mitsubishi Motor slumped 3.28%.
Trading companies ended mixed following strength in local currency. Toyota Tsusho Corp. slipped 0.67%, Mitsui & Co. shed 0.61%, Mitsubishi Corp. edged down 0.31% and Itochu Corp. declined 0.33%. However, Sumitomo Corp. gained 0.82% and Marubeni Corp. added 0.45%.
Mitsubishi Chemicals, which announced plans to purchase Mitsubishi Rayon in a tender offer yesterday, gained 9.18% after revealing that it would fund the acquisition from internal accruals and bank loans. Mitsubishi Rayon, which surged more than 29% in the previous session, gained 4.84% on huge volume.
Banking stocks bucked the trend and ended higher, mostly on short covering. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial gained 3.49%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial advanced 1.51%, Mizuho Financial rose 1.94% and Resona Holdings climbed 2.47%.
Brokerage and securities also ended in positive territory. Nomura Holdings rose 3.08%, Daiwa Securities Group climbed 4.37% and Mizuho Securities gained 3.52%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 63.40 points, or 1.33% to close at 4,686, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,707, representing a loss of 61.10 points, or 1.28%.
Metals and mining stocks ended in negative territory on weaker commodity prices and profit taking by traders. BHP Billiton lost 2.02%, Rio Tinto fell 1.90%, Fortescue Metals shed 1.86%, Mincor Resources declined 3.40% and Oz Minerals shed 1.55%.
Oil stocks also ended in negative territory. Woodside Petroleum fell 2.81%, Oil Search Ltd slipped 0.84% and Origin Energy edged down 0.37%. Santos, however, managed to end unchanged from previous close.
Mixed trading was witnessed among gold-related stocks. Newcrest Mining shed 0.47% and Sino Gold Mining lost 1.49%. However, Lihir Gold managed to end in positive territory with a gain of 0.56%.
Banking stocks also slipped into negative territory on profit taking and concerns about sustaining recovery. ANZ Bank fell 2.25%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 0.60%, National Australia Bank shed 0.80% and Westpac Banking lost 1.94%. Investment banker Macquarie Office managed to end unchanged from previous close.
Retail stocks also ended lower. David Jones lost 1.40%, Harvey Norman fell 2.53%, JB Hi-Fi declined 1.33% and Woolworths shed 1.06%. Wesfarmers, however, managed to buck the trend and edged higher by 0.21%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 187.32 points or 0.83% at 22,456, taking cues from Wall Street, where the major averages ended in negative territory on concerns about sustaining economic recovery following weak economic data. Sharp drop in Dell's quarterly profit and lower commodity prices also impacted market sentiment. Speculation that the Chinese economy might have an asset bubble also raised concerns. Banks and property stocks were the major losers. Of the 42 components in the index, 34 stocks ended in negative territory.
In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended flat with a minor change of 0.06 points, at 1,620, as traders preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch attitude and moved to sidelines. Trading was relatively thin with modest buying interest in some select blue-chip stocks evinced by foreign institutional investors. Technology stocks ended mixed with Samsung Electronics losing 0.53% while LG Electronics gained 2.86% after a brokerage firm stated that the stock price had already hit a bottom.
After struggling in negative territory till mid-session, the Indian market reversed its direction to close sharply higher on Friday, buoyed by positive opening of the European markets and comments by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia that the government is unlikely to impose a tax on capital inflows. A sudden bout of short covering also helped the benchmarks close near the day's high. The BSE Sensex closed at 17,022, up 236 points or 1.41% from its previous close, and the S&P CNX Nifty climbed 63 points or 1.27% to 5,052.
Among the other major markets in the region, China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 12.27 points or 0.37% to close at 3,308 and Taiwan's Weighted Index declined 77.01 points, or 0.99%, to close at 7,683. However, Singapore's Strait Times Index edged up 2.75 points, or 0.10% to close at 2,762 and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index declined 18.58 points, or 0.75% to close at 2,487. |