Asia stock market mixes, EU and US tumble Feb 27

Asian shares were mixed yesterday Friday February 27 with Tokyo shrugging off further gloomy Japanese economic data while the weak performance of Wall Street and fears over the global economy weighed on other regional markets.

Investors in Tokyo were cheered by manufacturers’ forecasts for a small rise in production in March.

“The forecast is offering the market a small ray of hope,” Daiwa Securities strategist Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi told Dow Jones Newswires.

TOKYO: Up 1.48%. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 110.49 points to 7,568.42. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 14.18 points, or 1.91%, to 756.71.

HONG KONG: Shares fell 0.7% yesterday as overnight losses on Wall Street and a weak run in the Shanghai market weighed down stocks, with locally-listed Chinese stocks taking a bigger hit. Losses were limited by a rebound in Chinese bank shares in the last leg of the trading session. The Hang Seng Index ended 83.37 points lower at 12,811.57 but rose 0.9% on the week.

SYDNEY: Flat. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell a point to 3,344.5, while the broader All Ordinaries eased half a point to 3,296.9. Financial and resources stocks offset lagging consumer shares.

SHANGHAI: Down 1.81%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 38.40 points to 2,082.85. Non-ferrous metal companies and carmakers led the decline on profit-taking after rising sharply in past sessions because of Beijing’s stimulus packages for the sectors.

TAIPEI: Up 0.85%. The weighted index rose 38.59 points to 4,557.15 as bargain hunters bought into the bellwether electronics sector. “Valuations of electronic stocks look very attractive after recent steep falls,” Mega Securities analyst Alex Huang said.

SEOUL: Up 0.78%. The Kospi ended 8.24 points higher at 1,063.03 as bank stocks outperformed the broader market. Steelmakers and builders also gained ground.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed down 1.40% yesterday amid economic uncertainties, dealers said. The Straits Times Index slid 22.57 points to 1,594.87.

KUALALAMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia moved sideways after last week’s technical pullbacks. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) to stay below its overhead resistance of 900 when it closed at 890.67 points yesterday. The index opened lower at 887.40 points before rebounding to its intra-day high of 892.93 on Monday. It eased back to close at 887.83 points, giving a day-on-day loss of 1.88 points, or 0.21%. Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened lower at 885.66 before rebounding to close at the day’s high of 894.07 on Tuesday, giving a day-on-day gain of 6.24 points, or 0.70%.

BANGKOK: Down 0.10%. The SET composite index lost 0.42 points to 431.52 but the blue-chip SET-50 index edged up 0.38 points at 299.58.

JAKARTA: Down 0.4%. The Jakarta Composite Index lost 4.84 points to 1,285.48. “The theme here is still taking cash whenever it is possible,” a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.

MANILA: Down 0.4%. The composite index fell 8.16 points to 1,872.22 while the all-share index shed 0.5% to 1,211.02 points. “We are still waiting for a favourable outlook on the US stimulus fund, said Flor Trochina of Pan Asia Securities Corp.

MUMBAI: Down 0.71%. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index slid 63.25 points to 8,891.61, snapping two consecutive days of gains.

EUROPE: European shares fell as the US government struck a deal to take a sizeable stake in Citigroup, US budget plans raised worries over drug maker earnings and a big loss at Lloyds hit British banks. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.7% to a close of 719.40 points. Britain’s FTSE 100 ended down 85.55 points to 3,830.09. Germany’s the DAX index ended at 3843.74 points, down 98.88 or 2.51%, while France’s CAC-40 index closed at 2702.48 points, down 42.36 or 1.54%.

USA: Stocks tumbled at the opening on Friday, sending the S&P 500 to a fresh bear market low as news the US government was taking a large common equity stake in embattled lender Citigroup (C.N) sowed more uncertainty over the fate of major banks.

* Adding to the negativity, government data showed that the recession deepened in the fourth quarter, with the economy shrinking at an annual rate of 6.2%, worse than initially estimated.

* The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) fell 120.42 points, or 1.68%, to 7,061.66. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) lost 15.76 points, or 2.09%, to 737.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) gave up 16.45 points, or 1.18%, at 1,375.02.

 

Category: Stocks