Asian stocks fell for a third week, dragging the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to its longest stretch of declines in eight months, on concern the easing of government stimulus measures will jeopardize the global economic recovery.
Hyundai Motor Co sank 4.6 percent this week after South Korea’s government said it’s “unclear” if the economic rebound will be sustained. National Australia Bank Ltd, Australia’s largest bank by sales, lost 3.7 percent after the nation’s central bank lifted borrowing costs.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index slumped 0.08 percent to 116.37 this week. The gauge has surged 64 percent from its lowest in more than five years on March 9 amid signs lower borrowing costs and spending packages are reviving the global economy.
“We’re tending towards the view that we will see some relapse next year as people basically lose faith in governments’ ability to continue to come to the rescue,” said Peter Elston, a Singapore-based strategist at Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, which manages about US$234 billon.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 2.5 percent this holiday-shortened week. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.1 percent. The KOSPI Index fell 0.5 percent in Seoul. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent in Hong Kong.
Global policymakers are trying to ensure growth continues after the withdrawal of measures introduced to drag the global economy out of recession. This week, Australia raised benchmark interest rates for the second time in four weeks, and the Bank of Japan said it would maintain “the accommodative financial environment” even after deciding to end the purchase of corporate debt next month.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has declined 4.3 percent from a 13-month high on Oct. 20, driving down its price-estimated earnings ratio to 21.7 on Thursday, the lowest level since May 1.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to move in a narrow range in the week ahead before market heavyweights report their sales figures for last month, dealers said on Friday.
With institutional investors sidelined amid cautious sentiment, the bellwether electronic sector is unlikely to gain sufficient momentum to steam ahead and lift the broader market, they said.
Worries over possible volatility on Wall Street may prevent investors from chasing prices here even if the market stages a rebound, they added.
The market is expected to encounter a cap at around 7,600 points next week, while downward pressure may see a technical floor at 7,300, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the TAIEX rose 122.97 points, or 1.68 percent to 7,463.05 after a 4.04 percent increase a week earlier.
President Securities (統一證券) analyst Steven Huang said institutional investors may continue to pocket recent profit, in particular on large cap electronic firms ahead of their sales data for last month.
Other markets on Friday:
BANGKOK: Up 2.45 percent from Thursday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand rose 16.72 points to 698.63.
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.54 percent from Thursday. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 6.80 points to 1,260.76.
JAKARTA: Up 1.18 percent from Thursday. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 27.89 points to 2,395.10. The index has gained 77 percent since the start of the year.
MANILA: Down 0.44 percent from Thursday. The index fell 13.04 points to 2,931.47.
WELLINGTON: Up 0.50 percent from Thursday. The NZX-50 closed up 15.66 points at 3,160.16.
MUMBAI: Up 0.59 percent from Thursday. The 30-share SENSEX rose 94.38 points to 16,158.28.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS