10 Jul 2008 | 15:53
Asian Markets Waive Between Gains and Losses
The
stock markets across the Asian region were trading lower after Wall
Street tumbled overnight on lingering concerns about the health of the
financial sector. Asian financial stocks lost ground amid credit
worries and technology companies dropped on earnings growth concerns
after the U.S. dollar declined.
In energy market, crude oil
climbed as much as 62 cents in Asian deals to $136.67 a barrel after
closing flat at $136.05 a barrel on Wednesday on the NYMEX.
In
currency markets, the U.S. dollar weakened to upper 106-yen levels in
early Tokyo deals, while it opened lower at 998.5 won as the South
Korean government stepped up its intervention in the forex market. The
Australian dollar opened firmer at US$0.9567-0.9571 and the kiwi was
buying US$0.7564 in early local deals
Overnight on Wall Street,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 236.77 points to 11,147.44 and
the S&P 500 index fell 29.02 points to 1,244.68, while the Nasdaq
Composite gave up 59.55 points to 2,234.89
Coming back to Asian
equity markets, Japanese and South Korean shares were unsettled,
wavering between positive and negative territories. Chinese stocks in
Shanghai dropped after a three-session winning streak as airlines
declined after a regulator allowed Air China to issue new shares.
Persistent worries about U.S. financial markets dragged down lenders
such as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in Sydney and
Wellington.
Looking in detail the Japanese market closed
slightly higher, extending yesterday?s gains. The market pared early
losses spurred by Wall Street's fall overnight on short covering in
real estate and banking sectors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index
finished up 15.08 points or 0.1% at 13,067.21, off a high of 13,139.85.
The broader Topix index closed up 5.23 points or 0.4% at 1,290.76.
On
the economic front, the Corporate Goods Price Index for Japan increased
5.6% in June from a year ago, according to data released by the Bank of
Japan. The CGPI, which measures prices of domestically produced and
used goods traded among companies, rose to a reading of 109.7, the 52nd
straight month of expansion. The increase followed a revised 4.8% rise
in May, and was also larger than the 5.3% increase forecast by most
analysts.
Meanwhile, Japan's current account surplus contracted
for the third straight month in May, falling 5.9% from a year earlier,
according to the Ministry of Finance. The surplus stood at 2.0 trillion
yen in May before seasonal adjustment.
The Ministry of Finance
also said that foreigners were net buyers of Japanese stocks last week,
purchasing 192.5 billion yen worth after selling a revised net 514.7
billion yen worth a week earlier. They also bought a net 515.1 billion
yen in Japanese bonds after selling a net 422.1 billion yen worth last
week.
The Chinese market closed lower on profit booking
following 9% gains over last three sessions. The decliners were led by
airlines and brokerages. Wall Street's steep fall overnight amid fresh
worries over the U.S financial sector also weighed on investor
sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5% at
2,875.45.
On the economic front, China's trade surplus dropped
for the third straight month in June, decreasing 20.6% from a year
earlier to US$21.35 billion. Trade surplus for the period January to
June 2008 stood at US$99.03, down 11.8% on year-over-year basis.
In
Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1% to 21,821.78, but was off
the day's low at 21,498.87. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose
1.9% to 12,053.66.
The Australian stock market closed sharply
lower led by banks, on lingering credit concerns. The market opened
lower, tracking a weak lead from Wall Street, and remained in negative
territory for the entire trading session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200
index closed down by 1.5% at 4,937.4, giving away most of yesterday's
1.6% gains. The index has dropped 22.1% since the start of the year
after rising 11.8% in 2007. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 1.4%
to finish at 5,020.5.
On the economic front, the
Westpac/Melbourne Institute index for Australian consumer inflation
expectations remained unchanged at 5.9% in July and the Australian
Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate for the month of
June declined to 4.2%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 4.3% in May.
The
New Zealand market closed lower, ending a two-day winning streak. The
market started off lower, amid weakness among financial and tech
stocks, dented investor sentiment. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed
down 2.1% at 3,112.6, reversing Wednesday's 0.5% gains.
On the
economic front, manufacturing activity dropped in June to its third
lowest level since 2002. The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ seasonally
adjusted performance of manufacturing index or PMI stood at 45.7 points
compared to 49.3 in May.
Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 0.5% to 2,901.58, while Taiwan's weighted index added 0.4% to 7,075.65.
Advance
estimates released by the ministry of trade and industry earlier in the
day showed Singapore's second-quarter economic growth slowed to 1.9%
from the same period a year ago, as manufacturing activity contracted
in the biomedical sciences and electronics industries. The Singaporean
gross domestic product expanded 6.9% in the first quarter, and 9.1% in
the second quarter of 2007.
The South Korean stock market closed
higher, recovering from a 14-month low in early trade. After remaining
volatile for the most part of the trading session, the market finished
with gains as bargain hunting emerged in late trade. Interest
rate-sensitive stocks such as financials and construction companies
rallied after the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate on hold for
the 11th month as widely expected.
In another economic news, a
government report showed that South Korea's consumer confidence dropped
to the lowest level in three and a half years in June amid surging oil
prices and a slowing economy. The index measuring consumer confidence
in the economy and living conditions for the next six months fell to
86.8 last month from 92.2 a month earlier.
The benchmark Kospi
index climbed 1.2% to finish the session at 1,537.43, reversing its
0.9% decline. The key index plunged more than 1% in early trade.
In
the closing trade, India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, was down by 0.3%
to 13,926.24 and the broader S&P/CNX Nifty gained 0.1% to 4,162.20.
European
shares reversed the previous session's advance with banks and retailers
again under notable selling pressure as investors continued to worry
about financial-sector health in the face of a slowing economic
environment.
In the opening trade the U.K. FTSE 100 index
dropped 1.8% to 5,429.20, the German DAX 30 index declined 1.3% to
6,300.92 and the French CAC-40 index fell 1.8% to 4,26147.
The
U.K. drop came ahead of a Bank of England interest rate decision, in
which the central bank is expected to keep rates on hold at 5% as it
struggles the dueling forces of accelerating inflation and slowing
growth.
The day is also scheduled to release jobless claims
data for U.S, which will be followed by Bernanke and Paulson?s
testimony before house committee. In the late evening ECB president
Trichet will deliver it speech.
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Asian Markets Waive Between Gains and Losses
The
stock markets across the Asian region were trading lower after Wall
Street tumbled overnight on lingering concerns about the health of the
financial sector. Asian financial stocks lost ground amid credit
worries and technology companies dropped on earnings growth concerns
after the U.S. dollar declined.
In energy market, crude oil
climbed as much as 62 cents in Asian deals to $136.67 a barrel after
closing flat at $136.05 a barrel on Wednesday on the NYMEX.
In
currency markets, the U.S. dollar weakened to upper 106-yen levels in
early Tokyo deals, while it opened lower at 998.5 won as the South
Korean government stepped up its intervention in the forex market. The
Australian dollar opened firmer at US$0.9567-0.9571 and the kiwi was
buying US$0.7564 in early local deals
Overnight on Wall Street,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 236.77 points to 11,147.44 and
the S&P 500 index fell 29.02 points to 1,244.68, while the Nasdaq
Composite gave up 59.55 points to 2,234.89
Coming back to Asian
equity markets, Japanese and South Korean shares were unsettled,
wavering between positive and negative territories. Chinese stocks in
Shanghai dropped after a three-session winning streak as airlines
declined after a regulator allowed Air China to issue new shares.
Persistent worries about U.S. financial markets dragged down lenders
such as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in Sydney and
Wellington.
Looking in detail the Japanese market closed
slightly higher, extending yesterday?s gains. The market pared early
losses spurred by Wall Street's fall overnight on short covering in
real estate and banking sectors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index
finished up 15.08 points or 0.1% at 13,067.21, off a high of 13,139.85.
The broader Topix index closed up 5.23 points or 0.4% at 1,290.76.
On
the economic front, the Corporate Goods Price Index for Japan increased
5.6% in June from a year ago, according to data released by the Bank of
Japan. The CGPI, which measures prices of domestically produced and
used goods traded among companies, rose to a reading of 109.7, the 52nd
straight month of expansion. The increase followed a revised 4.8% rise
in May, and was also larger than the 5.3% increase forecast by most
analysts.
Meanwhile, Japan's current account surplus contracted
for the third straight month in May, falling 5.9% from a year earlier,
according to the Ministry of Finance. The surplus stood at 2.0 trillion
yen in May before seasonal adjustment.
The Ministry of Finance
also said that foreigners were net buyers of Japanese stocks last week,
purchasing 192.5 billion yen worth after selling a revised net 514.7
billion yen worth a week earlier. They also bought a net 515.1 billion
yen in Japanese bonds after selling a net 422.1 billion yen worth last
week.
The Chinese market closed lower on profit booking
following 9% gains over last three sessions. The decliners were led by
airlines and brokerages. Wall Street's steep fall overnight amid fresh
worries over the U.S financial sector also weighed on investor
sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5% at
2,875.45.
On the economic front, China's trade surplus dropped
for the third straight month in June, decreasing 20.6% from a year
earlier to US$21.35 billion. Trade surplus for the period January to
June 2008 stood at US$99.03, down 11.8% on year-over-year basis.
In
Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1% to 21,821.78, but was off
the day's low at 21,498.87. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose
1.9% to 12,053.66.
The Australian stock market closed sharply
lower led by banks, on lingering credit concerns. The market opened
lower, tracking a weak lead from Wall Street, and remained in negative
territory for the entire trading session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200
index closed down by 1.5% at 4,937.4, giving away most of yesterday's
1.6% gains. The index has dropped 22.1% since the start of the year
after rising 11.8% in 2007. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 1.4%
to finish at 5,020.5.
On the economic front, the
Westpac/Melbourne Institute index for Australian consumer inflation
expectations remained unchanged at 5.9% in July and the Australian
Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate for the month of
June declined to 4.2%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 4.3% in May.
The
New Zealand market closed lower, ending a two-day winning streak. The
market started off lower, amid weakness among financial and tech
stocks, dented investor sentiment. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed
down 2.1% at 3,112.6, reversing Wednesday's 0.5% gains.
On the
economic front, manufacturing activity dropped in June to its third
lowest level since 2002. The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ seasonally
adjusted performance of manufacturing index or PMI stood at 45.7 points
compared to 49.3 in May.
Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 0.5% to 2,901.58, while Taiwan's weighted index added 0.4% to 7,075.65.
Advance
estimates released by the ministry of trade and industry earlier in the
day showed Singapore's second-quarter economic growth slowed to 1.9%
from the same period a year ago, as manufacturing activity contracted
in the biomedical sciences and electronics industries. The Singaporean
gross domestic product expanded 6.9% in the first quarter, and 9.1% in
the second quarter of 2007.
The South Korean stock market closed
higher, recovering from a 14-month low in early trade. After remaining
volatile for the most part of the trading session, the market finished
with gains as bargain hunting emerged in late trade. Interest
rate-sensitive stocks such as financials and construction companies
rallied after the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate on hold for
the 11th month as widely expected.
In another economic news, a
government report showed that South Korea's consumer confidence dropped
to the lowest level in three and a half years in June amid surging oil
prices and a slowing economy. The index measuring consumer confidence
in the economy and living conditions for the next six months fell to
86.8 last month from 92.2 a month earlier.
The benchmark Kospi
index climbed 1.2% to finish the session at 1,537.43, reversing its
0.9% decline. The key index plunged more than 1% in early trade.
In
the closing trade, India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, was down by 0.3%
to 13,926.24 and the broader S&P/CNX Nifty gained 0.1% to 4,162.20.
European
shares reversed the previous session's advance with banks and retailers
again under notable selling pressure as investors continued to worry
about financial-sector health in the face of a slowing economic
environment.
In the opening trade the U.K. FTSE 100 index
dropped 1.8% to 5,429.20, the German DAX 30 index declined 1.3% to
6,300.92 and the French CAC-40 index fell 1.8% to 4,26147.
The
U.K. drop came ahead of a Bank of England interest rate decision, in
which the central bank is expected to keep rates on hold at 5% as it
struggles the dueling forces of accelerating inflation and slowing
growth.
The day is also scheduled to release jobless claims
data for U.S, which will be followed by Bernanke and Paulson?s
testimony before house committee. In the late evening ECB president
Trichet will deliver it speech.
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Newsroom - http://newsroom.investorline.co.in/
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Mutual funds - http://mutualfunds.investorline.co.in/
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