Asian markets mixed as investors turn cautious Sep 23

Asian markets were mixed yesterday Tuesday Sep 22 as cautious investors awaited the G20 summit this week as well as a US Federal Reserve meeting to review its strategy on guiding an economic recovery.

Activity was limited with markets in Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia closed due to public holidays.

SYDNEY: Down 0.29 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 sank 13.7 points to 4,663.7.

IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said the forecast helped buoy the index above its morning weakness, but it dipped again in late trade.

SHANGHAI: Down 2.34 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 69.46 points to 2,897.55.

Financial stocks led the fall after Guoyuan Securities said regulators had approved its plan to raise up to 10 billion yuan through a public offering of new shares.

SEOUL: Up 1.38 per cent. The Kospi gained 23.38 points at 1,718.88.

Sshares closed at a 15-month high as continued buying by foreigners boosted sentiment.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.06 per cent higher yesterday as bargain hunters helped the index regain some ground after recent falls, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished up 228.29 points at 21,701.14.

Analysts said the market’s uptrend will be maintained by the completion of several major initial public offerings this month.

TAIPEI: Down 0.45 per cent. The weighted index fell 33.43 points to 7,469.03.

The market fluctuated within a narrow range of 65 points, continuing the trend of the past three sessions. Investors have turned cautious before companies release earnings reports in October, a dealer said.

BANGKOK: Up 1.57 per cent. The composite index jumped 11.21 points to close at a 14-month high of 724.37, while the blue-chip SET-50 gained 8.64 points to close at 517.04.

“The market gained because investors expect the Federal Reserve chief to be positive about US recovery,” said Arpaporn Sawaengpak, analyst at DBS Vickers Securities (Thailand).

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 1.42 per cent higher yesterday, buoyed by interestin commodity-related stocks, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index rose 37.72 points to 2,685.63.

In the short term, further upside gains for the main index may be limited, dealers said

MANILA: Down 0.16 per cent. The composite index fell 4.55 points to 2,784.78 while the all-share index fell 0.56 per cent to 1,789.58 points.

“It is just sideways movement. Many of (the stocks) are barely changed,” said Rene Valeriano of Meridian Securities Inc. “This is a minor change. There is nothing for the market to react to,” he said.

MUMBAI: Up 0.87 per cent. The 30-share Sensex rose 145.13 points to 16,886.43, a near 16-month high

VIETNAM:
VN Index has recovered significantly in the past several months with the conquest of threshold of 580 points. At closing time on Tuesday session, VN Index increased by 4.88 points or 0.84 percent to 582.85 points with the market liquidity of 74.7 million shares being transferred for total value of 3.643 trillion dong.
HNX index continued accelerating by 1.81 points or 1.02 percent to end at 179.63 points with a total market trade of 39.823 million shares worth over 1.5 trillion dong in value.

EUROPE:
LONDON: European shares closed higher yesterday, snapping a two-day losing streak as a stronger commodity sector tracked firmer crude and metals prices that were supported by a weaker dollar.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.5 per cent at 1,004.41 points. The European index has rallied nearly 56 per cent since hitting a low in March and is up around 18 per cent this quarter, on track to post its best quarterly rise in almost a decade.

London’s leading FTSE 100 index closed 0.16 per cent higher at 5,142.6 points.

In Paris the CAC 40 index rose 0.30 per cent to 3,823.52 points and Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.72 per cent to 5,709.38 points.

AMERICA:
A rebound in commodities drew investors back into the stock market and helped push stocks to new highs for 2009.

Major stock indicators rebounded Tuesday from a drop the day earlier to end at their highest levels in 11 months. The Dow Jones industrials rose 51 points after falling 41 on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.01, or 0.5 percent, to 9,829.87, its highest close since Oct. 6, when it finished at 9,956.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 7.00, or 0.7 percent, to 1,071.66, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.26, or 0.4 percent, to 2,146.30. Both indexes are at 11-month highs.

More than two stocks rose every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.3 billion shares compared with 4.7 billion Monday.

Gold and silver prices rose after three days of drops, while oil prices gained $1.84 to settle at $71.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Commodities rose as the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, fell 0.8 percent, after earlier hitting a fresh low for the year. The dollar has fallen sharply since early March, making commodities cheaper for foreign investors, as its appeal wanes amid low interest rates and unprecedented government spending designed to stimulate the economy.

Demand for energy and material stocks increased as commodities rose. U.S. Steel Corp. added $2.22, or 4.6 percent, to $50.24, while Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped $1, or 3.6 percent, to $29.11.

Financial stocks rose after Rochdale Securities analyst Richard Bove raised his target price on Bank of America Corp. to $25 a share. Shares of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank rose 36 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $17.61.

Among technology stocks, Google Inc. shares hit a 13-month high after a Canaccord Adams analyst raised the target price on the stock to $560. Shares rose as high as $501.99 and ended at $499.06, a gain of $2.06.

Bond prices rose, pushing yields down. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.45 percent from 3.49 percent late Monday.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.72, or 0.8 percent, to 620.69.

Benchmark Currency Rates
	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
HKD	7.7504	11.4709	0.0853	12.6894	7.5765	7.2555	6.7909	 
AUD	1.1413	1.6892	0.0126	1.8686	1.1157	1.0684	 	0.1473
CAD	1.0682	1.581	0.0118	1.7489	1.0442	 	0.936	0.1378
CHF	1.023	1.514	0.0113	1.6748	 	0.9576	0.8963	0.132
GBP	0.6108	0.904	0.0067	 	0.5971	0.5718	0.5352	0.0788
JPY	90.88	134.507	 	148.795	88.8411	85.0777	79.6291	11.7259
EUR	0.6757	 	0.0074	1.1062	0.6605	0.6325	0.592	0.0872
USD	 	1.48	0.011	1.6373	0.9776	0.9362	0.8762	0.129
                                                              Bloomberg

 

Category: Stocks