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Asian markets mixed ahead of US growth data

"The market remains wary about the resilience of the US economy."

Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with investors waiting for second quarter US growth data due later in the day to get a fresh lead on the outlook for the US economy and interest rates, dealers said.

They said that Wall Street provided no direction after weak US homes sales figures canceled out strong durable goods orders overnight, while Thursday's sharp gains allowed room for profit-taking ahead of the weekend.

Continued violence in the Middle East and further problems in Nigeria pushed oil back up towards US$75, a constant source of concern after the inflation shock mid-week in Australia.

Sydney, which had rebounded 1.46 percent on Thursday, slipped back 0.99 percent Friday, with sentiment volatile and uncertain ahead of next week's central bank meeting and a widely expected interest rate hike to 6.00 percent.

Tokyo outperformed with a gain of 1.07 percent as the market welcomed a series of strong quarterly corporate results but a weakening in key employment and household spending figures also gave pause for thought.

Seoul was flat after industrial output data showed continued but slowing growth, raising concerns the recovery may be losing steam.

Taipei

Taiwan share prices closed 0.32 percent higher on continuing hopes the government will, despite its stated reluctance, relax limits on investment in China, dealers said.

They said investors remained hopeful that a government sponsored forum on reviving the economy, which closed later on Friday, would see some easing up on ties with China in the hope of boosting overall trade.

In the event, the forum failed to reach any consensus and only noted the various proposals put forward.

Taiwan Semiconductor Man-ufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, provided no lead as its lackluster guidance for the remainder of the year more than offset solid second quarter results.

The weighted index was up 20.82 points at 6,480.07, off a high of 6,490.36 and a low of 6,448.37, on turnover of NT$75.60 billion (US$2.3 billion).

Risers led decliners 559 to 402, with 149 stocks unchanged.

Tokyo

Japanese share prices closed at their highest level in over two weeks, adding 1.07 percent as investors welcomed robust earnings reports from local blue-chip companies, dealers said.

They said profit gains at corporate heavyweights such as electronic giants Sony and NEC helped the market shrug off a lackluster Wall Street performance overnight.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 163.09 points to 15,342.87, the best finish since July 11 and just off the day high of 15,351.79.

The broader TOPIX index of all first-section stocks gained 17.60 or 1.14 percent to 1,559.41.

Winners beat losers 1,142 to 450, with 99 stocks unchanged.

Volume rose to 1.69 billion shares from 1.66 billion on Thursday.

Over the week the Nikkei rose 3.5 percent and the TOPIX 2.9 percent.

Ichiyoshi Investment Management chief fund manager Mitsushige Akino noted that weaker US stocks overnight limited the market's gains, with investors nervous about growth prospects in the US.

"The market remains wary about the resilience of the US economy and investors are generally reluctant to take larger positions" ahead of key US second quarter growth data that was due later on Friday, he said.

seoul

South Korean share prices closed little changed as investors waited for key US growth data due later in the day for a lead on the outlook for the US economy and interest rates, dealers said.

They said the key issue remains interest rates, with markets still uncertain as to what the US Federal Reserve will decide on monetary policy when it meets early next month.

The KOSPI index was up 0.80 points at 1,297.07, after trading between 1,301.69 and 1,292.52. Volume was 191 million shares worth 2.3 trillion won (US$2.4 billion).

Gains led falls 400 to 315, with 104 stocks unchanged.

Institutions were net buyers of shares worth 135.2 billion won while foreign and retail investors were net sellers of 112.5 billion won and 41.9 billion won.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong share prices closed 0.23 percent higher as investors turned cautious in late trade ahead of US second quarter growth data due later in the day and global banking giant HSBC's interim results due tomorrow, dealers said.

They said follow-through interest in China Mobile supported the market while select other blue chips were also boosted by trading activity related to the settlement of this month's futures contracts later on Friday.

The Hang Seng Index was up 38.27 points at 16,955.04, off a low of 16,918.79 and a high of 17,034.55.
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