Asia: Shanghai falls again

Asian markets were mixed yesterday Wednesday August 29, with attention turning to a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke later in the week as dealers look for an indication of any stimulus by the central bank

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed 36.52 points, or 0.40 per cent, higher at 9,069.81 while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.50 per cent, or 3.73 points, to 750.03.

“Players remain in wait-and-see mode leading up to the Jackson Hole summit where more hints on information about the direction of monetary policy are expected,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Bernanke is due to address central bankers at an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, with investors hoping he will outline plans for further measures to boost the world’s number one economy.

Chinese shares ended near a three-and-a-half-year low. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 19.91 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 2,053.24. The index is at its lowest level since February 2, 2009.

Blue-chip companies fell on profit-taking after gains the previous session.

Seoul added 0.64 per cent, or 12.21 points, to 1,928.54 and Sydney closed flat, edging down 0.07 per cent, or 2.98 points, to 4,356.4 points

HONG KONG: STOCKS fell yesterday on disappointment at the lack of action to kickstart China’s economy, while dealers await a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke this week.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index eased 0.12 per cent, or 23.29 points, to 19,788.51.
“Fundamentally, there are no reasons to chase stocks higher,” said Alvin Cheung, an associate director at Prudential Brokerage.
At the same time, investors did not dare “aggressively sell down stocks, on fears of a US Fed easing-induced rally. Hence, we’re stuck here,” he told Dow Jones Newswires

SINGAPORE: SHARES in Thailand and Indonesia fell to three-week lows yesterday amid a broad sell-off in large-cap stocks while Singapore ended flat as investors cut back on risk ahead of a speech by the US Federal Reserve chairman.
Bucking the trend, Vietnam snapped a two-day losing streak.
In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times Index closed 0.05 per cent, or 1.50 points, at 3,041.57.
Among the actives, Olam International fell 2.01 per cent to S$1.95 but DBS Group rose 0.83 per cent to S$14.62

KUALA LUMPUR: SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia ended on an easier note yesterday, as investors remained on the sidelines, awaiting fresh leads from Europe on the eurozone debt crisis, dealers said.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBMKLCI) fell 1.52 points to close at 1,645.58, despite opening 1.1 points better at 1,648.21.
A dealer said investors were awaiting the outcome of a meeting of central bankers and economists at Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the US starting tomorrow.
For the local bourse, he said, losses were mostly seen in plantation and palm oil counters including Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Genting Plantations

In other markets:

* Taipei rose 0.40 per cent, or 29.21 points, to 7,391.15.

* Manila closed 0.39 per cent higher, adding 20.10 points to 5,195.72.

* Bangkok fell 1.05 per cent, or 13.00 points, to 1,220.16.

* Jakarta closed 1.20 per cent, or 49.68 points, lower at 4,093.17.

* Mumbai fell 0.80 per cent, or 140.90 points, to 17,490.81.

VIETNAM: Vietnamese shares ended the losing string with a surge today as local investors rushed to buy shares on hopes of the shock from banker’s arrest was over.
The benchmark VN Index rose 7.28 points or 1.89% to 393.06. Volume increased 0.9% to 41.6 million shares worth of VND582.42 billion. Put through trading contributed 5.9 million shares worth of VND32.43 billion.
The market breadth turned positive on the primary bourse where 206 stocks advanced, 36 declined, 48 closed unchanged.
The VN30 gained 5.54 points or 1.22%, to 459.64. Among its 30 members 27 gained, 2 lost the ground and 1 unchanged
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX gained 2.15 points or 3.6% to 61.88.Trading volume rose 4.7% to 33.1 million shares worth VND298.5 billion.
The market breadth remained positive where 214 rallied, 38 declined, 38 closed unmoved, the rest untraded.
HNX30 closed up 5.29 points or 4.71% to 117.62

EUROPE:European equities dipped yesterday as investors took profits and eyed growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve would unveil more stimulus measures later this week, dealers said.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.4 per cent to 1,084.12 points, while the Euro STOXX 50 index declined by 0.5 per cent to 2,430.45.
In morning deals, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.43 per cent to 5,750.83 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 0.36 per cent to 6,977.61 and Paris’ CAC 40 slid 0.34 per cent to 3,419.78.
Worries over the weak economic outlook and nervousness ahead of a key gathering of central bankers tomorrow are also weighing on equity markets.
“There’s plenty of room for disappointment. We still think that the upside remains limited,” said Central Markets senior trader Joe Neighbour

AMERICA:  Slightly better economic growth and stronger housing sales nudged the stock market higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average managed a four-point gain.

The U.S. economy expanded at a 1.7 percent annual rate from April through June thanks to rising consumer spending and exports. That’s an improvement from the initial estimate of 1.5 percent, but not enough to put a dent in the unemployment rate.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 4.49 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to close at 13,107.48.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.19 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,410.49

The Nasdaq composite rose 4.05 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,081.19.

For the week:

The Dow is down 50.49 points, or 0.4 percent.

The S&P 500 is down 0.64 point, or less than 0.1 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 11.40 points, or 0.4 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 889.92 points, or 7.3 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 152.89 points, or 12.2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 476.04 points, or 18.3 percent.

Benchmark Currency Rates

	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
USD	–	1.2530	0.0127	1.5823	1.0433	1.0097	1.0326	0.1289
EUR	0.7981	–	0.0101	1.2628	0.8326	0.8059	0.8241	0.1029
JPY	78.6800	98.5900	–	124.4930	82.0850	79.4500	81.2150	10.1440
GBP	0.6320	0.7919	0.0080	–	0.6594	0.6382	0.6526	0.0815
CHF	0.9585	1.2010	0.0122	1.5165	–	0.9679	0.9894	0.1236
CAD	0.9903	1.2409	0.0126	1.5669	1.0331	–	1.0227	0.1277
AUD	0.9685	1.2136	0.0123	1.5324	1.0106	0.9778	–	0.1249
HKD	7.7561	9.7183	0.0986	12.2726	8.0919	7.8329	8.0085	–

 

Category: FinanceAsia