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Asian stocks mixed as Tokyo saps sentiment

A passer-by looks at the electronic stock board of a securities firm in downtown Tokyo on Friday. The benchmark NIKKEI 225 fell 179.63 points to 15,734.60 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Asian stocks closed mixed in lackluster trading on Friday with profit takers cashing up on the latest sharp rally and with weakness in Tokyo weighing on sentiment.

Tokyo slumped 1.13 percent with investors growing increasingly concerned about the state of the Japanese economy and this knocked Singapore off its record high by 0.83 percent.

The Thanksgiving holiday in the US also left the regional markets without its most important lead and elsewhere Sydney fell 0.24 percent, Bangkok was down 0.69 percent, Wellington eased 0.19 percent while Hong Kong was flat.

However, Kuala Lumpur continued its rally on brighter economic prospects and rose 1.33 percent. Slight gains were registered in Taipei, Mumbai, Manila and Seoul as Jakarta surged 0.80 percent and closed at another record high.

TAIPEI

Share prices closed up 0.58 percent, extending recent gains on follow-through interest from foreign investors.

The weighted index closed up 42.67 points at 7,427.36 on turnover of NT$103.89 billion (US$3.17 billion).

"The market has apparently taken its lead from the avid interest shown by foreign investors lately," SinoPac Securities Corp (永豐金證券) assistant vice president Alvin Teng (鄧可欣) said.

Dealers said stronger-than-expected economic growth data for the third quarter to September also contributed to the generally bullish trading undertone.

GDP rose 5.02 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, compares with the previous official growth estimate of 4.39 percent.

Sentiment was consolidating for a further push upside as traders believe the market could breach its May high of 7,476 points given a current flow of capital into this part of the world, he said.

"I think we are going to have some sort of a liquidity-driven rally, with the pace likely to hasten and slow down alternately, between Thanksgiving and the Lunar New Year, which falls in February 2007," Teng said.

TOKYO

Share prices closed down 1.13 percent within sight of two-month lows as investors fretted over the course of the local economy and the recent strength of the yen.

Dealers said buyers were scarce in the absence of leads following Thursday's market holidays in the US and Japan.

The NIKKEI-225 fell 179.63 points to 15,734.60.

Investors were worried about the impact on exporter earnings of the yen's recent rise to around ?116 to the US dollar when just a month ago it was trading near the ?120 level, dealers said.

"The ?116/dollar level is not the level that would decisively hurt exporters' earnings," said Masayoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities.

"But because there was also nervousness about the health of the economy, its negative effect on the market was accelerated," he added.

Banks were sold off because of their lackluster results.

SEOUL

Share prices closed 0.18 percent higher, with foreign investor selling pressure largely offset by strong institutional support.

Dealers said losses in Kookmin Bank put the market on the defensive after US private equity fund Lone Star cancelled a US$7.4 billion deal to sell Korea Exchange Bank to South Korea's largest lender.

Lone Star cited an ongoing investigation by South Korean prosecutors into its original purchase of KEB for its withdrawal from the contract.

The KOSPI index added 2.50 points at 1,421.73.

HONG KONG

Share prices closed flat amid profit-taking in selected China financial and local property stocks with sharp losses on the Tokyo bourse weighing on sentiment.

Dealers said investors are expected to focus on interest rate-related data from the US next week, while locally, investors will be watching the government auction of two residential sites on Tuesday and the expiry of the futures contract the following day.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 5.02 points at 19,260.30.

SHANGHAI

Share prices closed mixed on profit-taking in the blue chips and banks while property stocks were buoyed once again by further sharp gains in the yuan.

Dealers said the varied performance reflected profit-taking in Shanghai after the recent sustained gains while property stocks found favour in Shenzhen, where the favorite speculative play attracted fresh funds as the yuan rose.

The Shanghai A-share Index lost 12.57 points to 2,155.26, but the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 3.60 points at 485.50.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, closed down 11.55 points or 0.56 percent at 2,050.81.

SYDNEY

Share prices closed 0.24 percent lower as profit-taking hit banking stocks after a holiday in the US markets left sentiment subdued.

Dealers said that while market consolidation continued there was still plenty of cash chasing a limited number of shares thanks to merger and acquisition activity.

The SP/ASX 200 fell 13.3 points to 5,453.6 while the broader All Ordinaries Index retreated 10.2 points to 5,431.4.

SINGAPORE

Share prices closed 0.83 percent lower on profit-taking as investors locked in gains after the market's recent record-breaking run.

The Straits Times Index closed down 23.67 points at 2,814.81 on volume of 1.58 billion shares.

KUALA LUMPUR

Share prices closed at a nine-year high, surging 1.33 percent with optimism rising on the back of better corporate earnings and a stronger economic outlook.

Dealers said share prices were buoyed by strong buying interest in index-heavyweights on growing optimism about the market's medium-term prospects.

The composite index gained 13.92 points to 1,060.43.

BANGKOK

Share prices closed 0.69 percent lower as trading was thin in the absence of fresh leads following Thursday's market holidays in the US and Japan.

Dealers said the market was also under pressure as investors sold banking and construction shares.

The composite index fell 5.05 points to 723.87 on turnover of 2.6 billion shares.

MUMBAI

Share prices edged higher to close up 0.16 percent in cautious trade as investors steered clear of taking new positions before the weekend.

Dealers said buying interest was sporadic in index stocks, but mid and small-cap stocks were actively traded.

The 30-share SENSEX index rose 22.5 points to 13,703.33.
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