Asian markets slide on cautious sentiment Oct 29

Asian shares tumbled for a third successive day yesterday Thursday 29 following heavy overnight falls on Wall Street, as risk appetite was sapped by further concerns over the pace of a US economic recovery.

Sentiment was also cautious ahead of the release of US gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the third quarter, the government’s first estimate of the output of goods and services in the world’s largest economy.

TOKYO: Down 1.83 percent. The Nikkei-225 fell 183.95 points to 9,891.10.

The market is at a three-week low, below 10,000 for the first time since October 8.

Investors largely overlooked data showing a seventh straight gain in factory output, which rose 1.4 percent in September on-month.

HONG KONG: Shares dropped 2.28 percent yesterday as regional markets tumbled following another fall on Wall Street due to fears over economic recovery.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished 496.59 points lower at 21,264.99, the third straight session of falls.

Turnover was at HK$80.81 billion.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 0.63 percent lower yesterday following a drop on Wall Street and as investors awaited release of US third quarter economic data.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index fell 16.67 points to 2,632.31, its third straight decline in as many days.

Volume totalled 1.73 billion shares worth S$1.61 billion.

SYDNEY: Down 2.36 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 gave up 110.4 points to 4,574.7.

“There’s nothing fundamental driving losses today other than the good news has dried up,” said CommSec economist Craig James.

SHANGHAI: Down 2.34 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was down 70.86 points to 2,960.47.

“Weak US stocks overnight and the fact that 28 companies will launch on ChiNext today combined to dampen investor sentiment,” said Guosen Securities analyst Wang Junqing.

SEOUL: Down 1.48 percent. The KOSPI fell 23.86 points to 1,585.85.

Steelmakers were among the hardest hit. POSCO fell 5.06 percent to 497,500 won and number two Hyundai Steel plunged 5.75 percent to 77,100.

TAIPEI: Down 2.37 percent. The index fell 178.26 points to 7,355.69.

“No doubt Wall Street is the biggest fear factor in the market, and share prices have run ahead of economic fundamentals,” said Stanley Chou of Mega International Investment Service.

BANGKOK: Down 1.97 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand lost 13.85 points to close at 690.10.

JAKARTA: Down 0.48 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index lost 11.28 points to 2,344.03.

KUALA LAMPUR: SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia continued to head south in tandem with the weak performances on regional stock markets on Wednesday. Its overall declining counters outpaced advancing counters by 468 to 216.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) fell from its intra-day high of 1,244.04 to intra-week low of 1,236.20 yesterday.

It closed at 1,241.75 points, giving a day-on-day loss of 7.30 points, or 0.58 percent.

MANILA: Down 1.58 percent. The index fell 45.88 points to 2,862.33.

WELLINGTON: Down 0.22 percent. The NZX-50 fell 7.16 points to 3,195.62.

MUMBAI: Down 1.42 percent. The 30-share Sensex fell 230.77 points to 16,052.72.

VIETNAM:
Ending the trading session on October 29, the index of Hochiminh Stock Exchange (STC) lost 18.37 points or 3.06 percent to end at 581.49 pts with the total matching order trade of over 82 million shares worth 3.95 trillion dong, up 24.5 percent in volume and 30 percent in value day on day.
On the northern bourse, the HNX Index continued falling another 7.37 points or 3.62 percent to end at 196.14 pts with the total market trade of over 42 million shares valued at over 1.7 trillion dong.

EUROPE:
LONDON: European shares closed sharply higher yesterday after data confirmed that the US had emerged from recession.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.8 percent to a provisional close of 997.61 points after hitting a three-week low of 974.50 points earlier.

The European benchmark is up more than 54 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects for economic recovery.

London’s FTSE index closed up 1.13 percent at 5,137.72 points. Frankfurt’s DAX closed 1.66 percent higher at 5,587.45 points and in Paris the CAC 40 rose 1.37 percent to 3,714.02.

AMERICA:
Stocks logged their best day in three months as investors rushed into the market on word the economy grew faster than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 200 points Thursday to recoup most of its losses for the week, while demand for safe-haven holdings like Treasurys wilted.

The Commerce Department’s report that gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter reinvigorated investors who had dumped stocks for much of the past week on signs of a weakness in the housing market and a disappointing report on consumer confidence.

The economic growth came in ahead of the 3.3 percent rise forecast by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. It was the strongest growth in two years and broke four straight quarters of declines. Coming on the 80th anniversary of the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression, it was the best indication yet that the longest recession since then has ended.

Many analysts caution that it will be hard to sustain the growth at the pace seen in the third quarter.

Government stimulus programs including the popular Cash for Clunkers auto rebates and tax credits for first-time home buyers bolstered the economy. Once the government’s stimulus measures run their course, the economy could run afoul of lingering problems such as high unemployment and weak consumer spending.

“I don’t think that at this point in the rebound that the economy would be self-sustainable,” said Jason D. Pride, director of research at Haverford Investments in Philadelphia. “The only way to have effective sustained economic growth is to have job growth, but it tends to come later.”

Analysts say the economic recovery is likely to be bumpy as consumers try to pay down debt and credit for small businesses remains tight.

But such concerns were pushed aside on Thursday.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 199.89, or 2.1 percent, to 9,962.58. It was the best day for the Dow since July 15.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 23.48, or 2.3 percent, to 1,066.11, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 37.94, or 1.8 percent, to 2,097.55.

Bond prices fell, pushing their yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.50 percent from 3.42 percent late Wednesday. Bonds extended their early losses after a lackluster auction of seven-year notes.

Benchmark Currency Rates
	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
HKD	7.7502	11.4949	0.0848	12.8281	7.608	7.2527	7.0806	 
AUD	1.0946	1.6234	0.012	1.8117	1.0745	1.0243	 	0.1412
CAD	1.0686	1.5849	0.0117	1.7687	1.049	 	0.9763	0.1379
CHF	1.0187	1.5109	0.0111	1.6861	 	0.9533	0.9307	0.1314
GBP	0.6042	0.8961	0.0066	 	0.5931	0.5654	0.552	0.078
JPY	91.372	135.520	 	151.239	89.6956	85.5063	83.4775	11.7896
EUR	0.6742	 	0.0074	1.116	0.6619	0.6309	0.616	0.087
USD	 	1.4832	0.0109	1.6552	0.9817	0.9358	0.9136	0.129
                                                              Bloomberg

 

Category: Stocks