Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday with a sharp fall in Tokyo weighing on sentiment and offsetting the positive impact from overnight gains on Wall Street.
Tokyo dived more than 2 percent after growth figures showed the economy was growing faster than expected, fuelling the prospect of rising interest rates and this impacted on markets elsewhere in the region.
Taipei, Mumbai, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur also fell, while gains in Hong Kong and Jakarta were limited in tight rangebound trade.
PHOTO: AP
Seoul bucked the trend and closed sharply higher on support for banks after faltering earlier on in response to Tokyo. Bangkok also rose with foreign support improving after a court decided not to investigate Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's business dealings.
In Taipei share prices closed 0.15 percent lower as profit-taking emerged to reverse early gains driven by Wall Street's positive overnight performance.
Dealers said the market lacked conviction at these levels and investors clearly preferred to take some profits rather than push prices too far ahead.
The TAIEX fell 10.18 points at 6,673.75 on turnover of NT$94.29 billion (US$2.91 billion).
"There was not enough enthusiasm about pushing the upside as too many investors were ready to pocket their gains," SinoPac Securities Corp (
An immediate contraction in turnover deprived the market of the momentum needed to help it through 6,700 points, he said.
"For those who monitor market charts, a pull-back to around 6,400-6,500 points, or the 72-day moving average for the benchmark index, seems increasingly possible," Teng said.
Tokyo share prices lost over 2 percent as worries about the prospect of rising interest rates overshadowed strong economic growth figures.
Dealers said news that Japan's economy grew at a 5.5 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter of last year showed the recovery was well on track, but the market had already priced in a strong figure.
Foreign investors, who had ploughed into the market last year to help drive gains of some 40 percent, continued on the sell-side, adding to the pressure.
The NIKKEI-225 index dropped 330.22 points to 15,713.45.
The market started the day on an upbeat note after news that Japan's GDP grew 1.4 percent in the three months to December from the previous quarter. That beat market expectations for 1.2 percent and was significantly stronger than the 0.3 percent pace seen in the third quarter of last year.
"The GDP data was, indeed, stronger than the market consensus and that is generally good news for the market," said Hideyuki Suzuki, a strategist at SBI Securities.
Seoul share prices closed 1.40 percent higher, with KEPCO, large-cap ITs and bank stocks leading the advance.
Dealers said the market faltered at one stage due to the heavy losses in Tokyo but strong foreign and institutional investor support offset profit-taking by retail investors, allowing the market to chalk up a second day of gains.
It appears that after recent very volatile trade, the market has established a strong bottom at 1,300 points and should be able to hold that going forward.
The KOSPI index rose 18.41 points at 1,332.73.
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.16 percent higher on the back of gains in HSBC and select China plays amid a continued inflow of institutional funds.
Dealers said most property stocks were down on profit-taking following recent gains on cuts in bank mortgage rates, except for blue chips Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai, which helped the market finish in positive territory despite heavy losses in Tokyo.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 24.81 points at 15,475.69.
Overall gains were limited as Wall Street's advance for a third day running was negated by the Tokyo bourse's 330.22-point fall on Thursday.
"The market was relatively quiet today, with HSBC among the gainers, which helped pull the index out of negative territory," said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Securities.
Shanghai share prices closed 0.26 percent lower, extending losses in a sustained correction with automakers and metal stocks under pressure.
Dealers said that after Thursday's sharp downturn of more than 2.00 percent, investors were in no mood to take any risks and settled for some further profit-taking on the gains made prior to the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
Having run into strong resistance at 1,300 points on the Shanghai Composite Index, it seems unlikely the market can make much headway unless it gets a fresh boost in the shape of another government reform initiative.
The Shanghai A-share Index fell 3.48 points to 1,329.38, while the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 1.84 points or 0.57 percent at 318.89.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, lost 3.23 points or 0.25 percent at 1,267.41.
Sydney share prices closed 0.43 percent lower as investors sold off mining stocks amid growing uncertainty over the outlook for commodity prices.
Dealers said a statement by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Ian Macfarlane reaffirming the central bank's tightening bias on monetary policy was largely as expected but the prospect for further US rate hikes hit US-linked companies.
The SP/ASX 200 index dropped 20.7 points to 4,799.9.
Singapore share prices closed 0.14 percent down on profit-taking in selected blue chips including DBS bank, which posted a dramatic slump in net profit for last year.
The Straits Times Index closed down 3.32 points to 2,431.34.
"After lunch, the STI fell mainly on DBS' drop, and it is still down now," a dealer at a local brokerage said.
Indian share prices fell 1.41 percent, closing below the 10,000 level as investors locked-in gains and chose not to build up fresh positions ahead of the Feb. 28 budget.
Dealers said selling pressure was seen in infrastructure and agro-commodity sectors like sugar and tea, which had run higher in previous weeks.
The benchmark 30-share SENSEX fell 143.19 points to 9,981.11.
"There was some concern with investors and funds not willing to build fresh positions at the weekend. We expect the markets to remain range-bound at this stage," said Rajesh Jain, director of brokerage Pranav Securities.
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