Asian stocks fell the most in six weeks, snapping a four-day rally, after National Australia Bank Ltd said credit losses may surge and Samsung Electronics Co’s profit missed estimates.
National Australia, the country’s biggest bank, and Australian & New Zealand Banking Group, the third-largest, plunged the most since the October 1987 stock market crash, dragging financial shares to their biggest drop since March. Samsung, Asia’s largest maker of flat screens, tumbled in Seoul.
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the biggest maker of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels in Taiwan, slumped in Taipei after earnings fell short of estimates and Canon Inc retreated in Tokyo after profit dropped.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index lost 2.4 percent to 133.46 as of 7:55pm in Tokyo, the most since June 12 and extending its decline this year to 15 percent.
TAIPEI
Taiwanese share prices may consolidate next week as market sentiment has turned cautious amid fears of a weakening US economy and volatility on Wall Street, dealers said on Friday.
They said foreign institutional investors continue to trim positions to meet fund redemption in the US and that apart from US woes, the market was also looking at oil prices, which remain high despite recent fallbacks.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index closed up 418.30 points or 6.14 percent at 7,233.62. The previous week, the index lost 5.93 percent.
Friday’s 1.82 percent fall compared with Thursday eroded some of the market’s gains earlier in the week.
“Friday’s retreat showed market confidence remains fragile,” Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu said. “With many investors remaining on the sidelines, the market is expected to enter consolidation mode.”
Mega Securities Corp (兆豐證券) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said electronic heavyweights may attract most of the market attention as they are about to report second-quarter results.
TOKYO
Japanese share prices on Friday slid 1.97 percent from the previous day, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index fell 268.55 points to close at 13,334.76, snapping a three-day winning streak.
The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares slid 34.29 points or 2.57 percent to 1,298.28, dropping below the symbolic 1,300-point mark.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed 1.5 percent down, dealers said. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 347.01 points to 22,740.71.
SYDNEY
Australian share prices plunged 3.37 percent, dealers said. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index finished down 173.6 points at 4,970.5, while the broader All Ordinaries shed 157.4 points or 3.03 percent to 5,031.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed 1.55 percent lower, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, closed 45.19 points lower at 2,865.10.
SEOUL
South Korean share prices dropped 1.73 percent, analysts said. The benchmark KOSPI index fell 28.21 points to close at 1,597.93.
SINGAPORE
Singapore share prices closed 1.85 percent lower, dealers said. The blue-chip Straits Times Index fell 55.00 points to 2,922.91 on light volume of 834.57 million shares.
MANILA
Philippine share prices closed down 0.9 percent, dealers said. The composite index gave up 23.19 points to 2,512.72, while the all-share index lost 13.40 points to 1,580.89.
MUMBAI
India’s share prices closed down 3.4 percent, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share SENSEX index fell 502.07 points to 14,274.94.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
RSS