Asian markets mixed aswariness sets in
Asian share markets were mixed yesterday Monday Jan 10 as investors digested disappointing US jobs data and European debt woes resurfaced amid concerns Portugal might need a bailout.
SHANGHAI gave up 1.66 per cent, or 2,791.81 on lingering uncertainty over whether China will raise interest rates again soon and after data showed the trade surplus showed a surprise sharp drop in December.
“People sold stocks because of their wariness about December’s macro economic data,” Central China Securities analyst Zhang Gang told Dow Jones Newswires.
SEOUL shed 0.26 per cent, or 5.39 points, to end at 2,080.81.
SYDNEY edged 0.16 per cent, or 7.3 points, higher to 4,712.3.
The Tokyo market was closed for a public holiday.
Last week’s stock market optimism over the global economy was dampened on Friday when Washington said fewer jobs had been created in December than expected.
Eurozone troubles returned yesterday, as Portugal prepared for a crunch test this week when it tries to raise fresh cash with a bond issue, as investors seek ever higher returns.
Although Lisbon insists it is not in trouble and that recent austerity measures will restore its finances, analysts believe the country is certain to need a bailout, like Greece and Ireland last year.
Traders will also be keeping an eye on bond sales in Italy and Spain, which are also seen as at risk of default.
HONG KONG: Shares shed 0.67 per cent yesterday on the back of disappointing US jobs data and following a surprise sharp drop in China’s trade surplus. Profit-taking also pushed the market down.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 159.37 points to 23,527.26.
The Hang Seng Index’s slow stochastic, an indicator of short-term trends, is now being pulling back from oversold territory for the first time this year, suggesting that buying could soon resume.
SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian stock markets fell sharply yesterday as foreign investors took profits and bailed from the region on fears that policymakers may not be able to catch up easily with rising inflation.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index closed down 0.98 per cent, or 32.08 points, at 3,229.27.
Dealers also attributed the region’s losses to foreign outflows, which helped push the rupiah and the baht each to the lowest since September.
KUALA LAMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia paused to consolidate its five consecutive days’ gains yesterday. Overall declining counters outpaced advancing counters by 478 to 427.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) fell from its intra-day high of 1,576.37 to its intra-day low of 1,561.55 yesterday. It closed at 1,563.52 points, giving a day-on-day loss of 8.69 points, or 0.55 per cent
In other markets:
* Taipei rose 0.40 per cent, or 35.16 points, to 8,817.88.
* Manila fell 2.14 per cent, or 89.94 points, to 4,112.58.
* Jakarta tumbled 4.21 per cent, or 152.90 points, to 3,478.55.
The market was hit as foreign investors reduced their positions in most interest rate-sensitive counters amid worries the central bank will raise its key interest rate to tame inflation, traders said Monday.
* Bangkok fell 1.78 per cent, or 18.42 points, to 1,018.03.
* Mumbai tumbled 2.38 per cent, or 467.69 points, to 19,224.12. Dealers sold up on concerns of an interest rate hike soon and a slowdown in overseas fund flows.
VIETNAM: The VN Index lost another 1.31 points or 0.27 percent to 480.55 pts and the HNX Index dropped 2.57 points or 2.34 percent to end at 107.47 pts.
On the southern floor, the total matching order trade including negotiation transactions reached over 33.07 million shares valued at over 769.01 billion dong.On HNX, the total market trade reached over 31.4 million shares for 592.5 billion dong.
EUROPE: European shares fell yesterday, as concerns over the eurozone debt crisis dampened risk appetite ahead of a flurry of bond auctions this week, and with caution prevailing ahead of the US earnings season.
By 1143 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.9 per cent at 1,134.37 points, falling for the second straight session.
Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAXand France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6 to 1.6 per cent.
Investors will eye bond auctions from Portugal, Spain and Italy later this week for signs on whether indebted sovereigns will be able to raise funds at sustainable levels in 2011.
“The eurozone is back in focus, specifically the possibility of Portugal having to tap the EU’s bailout fund,” said economist Ian Williams at Altium Securities.
AMERICA: Stocks indexes were mostly lower on Monday, with telecommunication companies leading the way down.
The Dow fell for the third day straight, losing 37.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 11,637.45.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 1.75, or 0.1 percent, to 1,269.75. The Nasdaq composite gained 4.63, or 0.2 percent, to 2,707.80.
Losses were spread across the market. Five of the 10 industry groups that make up the S&P 500 index fell. Telecommunications companies fell the most, 1 percent, followed by utilities and energy. 3M Co. led the 30 stocks that make up the Dow with a 1 percent gain.
The Nasdaq index posted small gains thanks in part to Apple and Netflix Inc., which jumped 4.8 percent. Playboy Enterprises Inc. soared 17 percent after agreeing to be taken private by a group of investors led by the company’s founder, Hugh Hefner.
Bond prices rose slightly, pushing their yields slightly lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.29 percent from 3.33 percent late Friday. The yield is used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans including mortgages.
Rising shares outnumbered falling shares by a slight margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was 4.1 billion shares.
Benchmark Currency Rates
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD HKD
HKD 7.7764 10.0731 0.0939 12.1142 8.0391 7.8310 7.7302 -
AUD 1.0060 1.3031 0.0122 1.5671 1.0400 1.0130 - 0.1294
CAD 0.9930 1.2863 0.0120 1.5470 1.0266 - 0.9871 0.1277
CHF 0.9673 1.2530 0.0117 1.5069 - 0.9741 0.9616 0.1244
GBP 0.6419 0.8315 0.0078 - 0.6636 0.6464 0.6381 0.0825
JPY 82.7960 107.249 - 128.981 85.5932 83.3771 82.3042 10.6471
EUR 0.7720 - 0.0093 1.2026 0.7981 0.7774 0.7674 0.0993
USD - 1.2953 0.0121 1.5578 1.0338 1.0070 0.9941 0.1286
Bloomberg
Category: Stocks
