Asia stock market retreats, EU and US bounce Mar 16
Asian share prices continued their rally yesterday Monday March 16 after US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke said he could already see the “green shoots” of economic recovery.
However, dealers cautioned against excessive optimism with the rebound based more on emotion than hard facts.
TOKYO: Up 1.78%. The Nikkei-225 index rose 134.87 points to 7,704.15, ending at a one-month high. “The market is still fragile, so we shouldn’t be overly optimistic,” Investrust chief executive officer Hiroyuki Fukunaga said.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 3.6% higher following strong gains on Wall Street and in Shanghai, dealers said. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 450.91 points at 12,976.71, after rallying for the fifth consecutive session. Turnover was HK$46.70 billion.
SYDNEY: Up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX200 index rose 3.2 points to 3,348.4. IG Markets research analyst Ben Potter said resources could not maintain the strong rally seen last week but banks gained as bargain hunters moved in.
SHANGHAI: Up 1.15%. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 24.44 points higher at 2,153.29. The market broke three straight days of losses mainly on hopes that banks’ earnings would exceed forecasts.
TAIPEI: Up 1.51%. The weighted index rose 73.93 points to 4,971.32. “Based on the trading volume, I suspect institutional investors stood behind the gains. They were cheered by US markets’ performance,” Concord Securities analyst Allen Lin said.
SEOUL: Flat. The Kospi fell 0.57 point to 1,125.46. “Stocks took a breather after the latest set of gains,” said Lee Jae-Mahn, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities.
SINGAPORE: Shares ended 0.56% higher yesterday but gains were limited as traders remained cautious even after a strong rally late last week, dealers said. The blue-chip Straits Times Index rose 8.80 points to 1,586.32 on volume of 976 million shares worth S$818 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 215 to 162, with 849 stocks unchanged.
KUALALAMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) fell from its intra-day high of 846.29 to its intra-day low of 838.47 yesterday. It closed at 840.88, giving a day-on-day loss of 2.57 points, or 0.30%. Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) staged a mild technical rebound. Its daily price trend rebounded to close at RM4.68, giving a day-on-day gain of 8 sen, or 1.74%.
BANGKOK: Flat. The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index shed 0.18 points to 424.61, while the blue-chip SET-50 index edged up 0.01 point to 295.43. The market saw late profit-taking in energy stocks, dealers said.
JAKARTA: Flat. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 2.58 points to 1,324.85 in late trade. “It was a healthy correction after gains in the previous three sessions,” a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.
MANILA: Down 4.7%. The composite index fell 86.43 points to close at 1,769.67, its lowest closing level since November 21. The all-share index declined 2.5%, or 30.15 points, to close at 1,166.51. Blue-chips PLDT and Meralco were heavily sold after announcing an alliance last week which did not please investors.
MUMBAI: Up 2.13%. The Sensex index climbed 186.93 points to 8,943.54. The bourse achieved its third straight day of gains on fresh buying as European markets and US index futures firmed, dealers said.
EUROPE: European stocks rose for a fifth day as the Group of 20 vowed to clean up toxic assets, US Federal Reserve chair Ben S. Bernanke said the recession may end this year and Barclays plc reported a “strong” start to 2009. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index advanced 2.7% to 173.19. The gauge of European stocks has rallied 9.6% since March 9 as Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co said they made money during the first two months of 2009, trimming this year’s drop to 13%.
USA: Stocks turned negative on Monday after American Express Co (AXP.N) said the number of people having trouble making credit card payments rose in February.
* Shares of American Express fell 1.6% to US$12.88.
* The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) slipped 10.91 points, or 0.15%, to 7,213.07. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) fell 2.40 points, or 0.32%, to 754.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) dropped 27.54 points, or 1.92%, to 1,403.96.
Category: Stocks
