Asia: Mixed on eurozone, China woes

Asian shares were mixed yesterday Tuesday August 28 as fears about the eurozone and a slowdown in China were offset by hopes the US central bank chief would this week outline steps to boost the world’s biggest economy.

Trade was light after US stocks ended mixed on Monday and the London stock exchange was closed for a public holiday.

Tokyo fell 0.57 per cent, or 52.10 points, to 9,033.29, weighed down by a strong yen and a bleak government report, which cut its view on the economy for the first time in 10 months amid slow exports and consumer spending.

Seoul edged down 0.08 per cent, or 1.54 points, to 1,916.33, with shares in Samsung Electronics rebounding 1.27 per cent following a plunge on Monday after a US court fined the firm US$1.05 billion for breaching Apple’s patents. Sydney gained 0.36 per cent, or 15.7 points, to 4,359.4.

Asian shares have been driven higher in August on hopes of fresh central bank stimulus but the euphoria has been tempered in recent sessions by fears expectations may not be met.

HONG KONG: Stocks ended flat, gaining 0.07 per cent as investors took to the sidelines before the US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke makes a key address this week.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 13.13 points to 19,811.80 on turnover of HK$36.07 billion.
Chinese shares ended up 0.85 per cent as investors cheered a planned move by blue-chip Baoshan Iron and Steel to buy back its shares, raising hopes of similar moves by other companies, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 17.44 points to 2,073.15 on turnover of 42.1 billion yuan.

SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index closed down 0.15 per cent, or 4.42 points, to 3,040.07.
Singapore Airlines gained 0.56 per cent to S$10.80 and Sembcorp Industries added 0.55 per cent to S$5.49.
Earlier in the day, Far East units extended gains after making its trading debut in the previous day, rising as much as 2.1 per cent to S$0.97 on Tuesday.
Far East was the third-highest traded stock by value in the Singapore market.

KUALA LUMPUR: SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia ended on an easier note yesterday, in line with regional stock markets as concern over the European debt crisis grew further, dealers said.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.02 points to close at 1,647.11, despite opening 0.11 point better at 1,648.24.
A dealer said investors were concerned about market talk that the crisis could move to Germany. “So far, exports of cars and industrial machinery to stronger economies in Asia and the US have helped Germany grow, while low unemployment has buoyed consumer spending at home.”
Meanwhile, Wall Street remained subdued, awaiting signals from the Federal Reserve about possible help for the economy, another dealer said.
The Finance Index dwindled 67.85 points to 14,777.99, the Plantation Index slipped 1.17 points to 8,640.14 but the Industrial Index earned 2.71 points to 2,884.39.
The FBM Emas Index added 19.03 points to 11,250.61, the FBM 70 Index shed 66.01 points to 12,326.55 and the FBM ACE Index dropped 41.76 points to 4,606.14.

In other markets:

* Taipei fell 1.42 per cent, or 106.28 points, to 7,361.94.

Hon Hai Precision shed 3.77 per cent to NT$84.2 while Acer was 1.32 per cent lower at NT$26.1.

* Wellington rose 0.16 per cent, or 5.82 points, to 3,629.05. Telecom Corp rose 0.62 per cent to NZ$2.43.

* Manila rose 0.63 per cent, or 32.27 points, to 5,175.62.

* Jakarta fell 0.07 per cent, or 3.03 points, to 4,142.85.

* Bangkok fell 0.05 per cent, or 0.57 points, to 1,233.16.

* Mumbai fell 0.27 per cent or 47.10 points to 17,631.71.

VIETNAM: Vietnamese shares continued to end lower today, however, selling pressure eased and some non-financial shares were stronger on bottom fishing.
The benchmark VN Index lost 0.41 point or 0.11% to 385.78. Volume fell 2.6% to 41.2 million shares worth of VND539.58 billion. Put through trading contributed 4.4 million shares worth of VND55.34 billion.
The market breadth was negative on the primary bourse where 101 stocks advanced, 141 declined, 51 closed unchanged.
The VN30 lost 2.22 points or 0.49%, to 454.1. Among its 30 members 13 gained , 11 lost the ground and 6 unchanged.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX lost 0.58 point or 0.96% to 59.73. Trading volume fell 9.43% to 31.67 million shares worth VND279.16 billion.
The market breadth turned positive where 103 rallied, 94 declined, 67 closed unmoved, the rest untraded.
HNX30 bucked the trend to close up 0.4 point or 0.36% to 112.34.

EUROPE:  Europe’s top shares lost ground yesterday as economic growth concerns kept investors subdued and reluctant to trade while waiting to learn more about further stimulus from central banks.
By 1012 GMT, the FTSEurofirst was down 4.23 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 1,091.75, erasing the previous session’s gains but keeping within its recent 30-point trading range.
Volumes were very low at just 18 per cent of their 90-day daily average.
The Eurostoxx 50, the euro zone index of blue chip companies, was 0.3 per cent lower as the index ricocheted between 2,400 and 2,495.
By midday in Europe, stocks were trading down across the board. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.1 per cent to 5,771.24. Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 per cent to 7,024. France’s CAC-40 lost 0.4 per cent to 3,451.

AMERICA:  Mixed economic data kept the stock market hovering near break-even Tuesday. One report on home prices looked encouraging, and another on consumer confidence was worrisome.

House prices increased in all major U.S. cities in June, according to the closely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index. The report was the latest sign that the housing market has been gaining strength.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 21.68 points to close at 13,102.99. Hewlett-Packard led the Dow down. HP’s stock lost 31 cents to $16.90 and hit a new one-year low.

Crude oil crept above $96 a barrel as Hurricane Isaac picked up speed in the Gulf of Mexico, where roughly one-quarter of the country’s oil is produced. Much of the region’s production and refining activity has shut down. The National Hurricane Center forecast that Isaac would reach the coast of southeastern Louisiana late Tuesday.

In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.14 points to 1,409.30, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 3.95 points to 3,077.14.

Among other U.S. stocks making big moves:

— Lexmark International jumped 14 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P. Lexmark said that it will stop making ink-jet printers and plans to lay off 1,700 employees, nearly 13 percent of its work force. The company expects to shutter its ink-jet supply plant in the Philippines by the end of 2015. Lexmark’s stock gained $2.61 to $21.62.

— The world’s top ketchup maker, H.J. Heinz, gained 2 percent. The company’s CEO said strong sales in Brazil, Indonesia and other developing countries should help quarterly earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations. The Pittsburgh company reports results Wednesday. Its stock rose 95 cents to $57.41.

— Sanderson Farms soared 9 percent after the poultry company swung to a quarterly profit. Higher prices for chicken parts, from boneless breasts to jumbo wings, pushed both profits and revenue above analysts’ estimates. Sanderson Farms’ stock surged $3.46 to $44.05.

Benchmark Currency Rates

	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
USD	–	1.2560	0.0127	1.5821	1.0458	1.0124	1.0368	0.1289
EUR	0.7962	–	0.0101	1.2596	0.8326	0.8061	0.8255	0.1027
JPY	78.5900	98.7100	–	124.3410	82.1890	79.5580	81.4880	10.1330
GBP	0.6321	0.7938	0.0080	–	0.6610	0.6399	0.6554	0.0815
CHF	0.9562	1.2009	0.0122	1.5128	–	0.9680	0.9915	0.1233
CAD	0.9878	1.2407	0.0126	1.5628	1.0330	–	1.0242	0.1274
AUD	0.9645	1.2115	0.0123	1.5258	1.0087	0.9763	–	0.1244
HKD	7.7559	9.7411	0.0987	12.2705	8.1109	7.8508	8.0408	–

 

Category: FinanceAsia