Asian markets closed mixed with a downward bias on Friday, as investors continued to consolidate in the aftermath of a regional plunge and turbulent mid-week trading.
Dealers said investor confidence had improved since the chaotic scenes that dominated Tokyo trading, forcing the market there to close early, abated, leaving most to focus on other local and international issues.
Rising oil prices on the back of tensions in Iran and Nigeria, and threats by al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden of possible further strikes against the US were the most prominent factors weighing on trading.
This resulted in a cautious sentiment, although dealers said that most investors believed the region's economic fundamentals remained sound and any losses appeared limited.
Tokyo closed flat as investigations got underway into allegations of fraud at Internet firm Livedoor, which had prompted Wednesday's sharp sell down. Hong Kong and Manila were also little changed.
Sydney, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur registered modest gains. Seoul bucked its recent trend of tracking Tokyo, and closed 2.64 percent lower on profit taking.
Taipei
In Taipei share prices closed 0.39 percent lower in thin trading after early gains driven by Wall Street's overnight rebound gave way to caution ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday break.
Dealers said semiconductor stocks initially tracked their US counterparts higher, but then lost steam as investors trimmed positions after a volatile week.
The TAIEX lost 25.66 points at 6,486.63 on turnover of NT$81.01 billion (US$2.52 billion).
"Local technology stocks in early trade were encouraged by the rally on Wall Street but investors [later] preferred the sidelines, with just a few days left before the Lunar New Year holidays," said Kevin Chung (鐘國忠), deputy manager at Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co Ltd (日盛投顧).
Investors were also reluctant to adopt an aggressive stance ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle, with higher oil prices and the corporate results season additional reasons for a non-committal stance.
Japanese share prices closed flat as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the weekend and following recent market chaos sparked by probe into Internet firm Livedoor.
The NIKKEI-225 index added just 0.41 points to end at 15,696.69, with trading still shortened by half an hour as an emergency measure to prevent heavy volumes crippling the trading system.
Markets had opened higher as gains on US markets helped Tokyo stocks extend a recovery after Wednesday's chaos that forced the bourse to close early for the first time ever as a flood of sell orders swamped the system.
But dealers turned cautious ahead of the weekend, as fresh allegations of fraudulent activities at Livedoor emerged in the press.
For the week, the NIKKEI 225 index shed 4.6 percent while the TOPIX lost 3.4 percent.
Seoul
In Seoul share prices closed sharply lower in volatile trading, falling 2.64 percent on heavy profit-taking after a very choppy week.
Dealers said generally lackluster Asian stocks provided no support for a market that has been badly hit by the turbulence in Tokyo following an investigation into alleged irregularities at an Internet firm favoured by investors.
The KOSPI index fell 35.86 points to 1,324.78.
Hong Kong share prices closed flat in cautious trading, with investors keeping a wary eye on oil prices which surged past US$67 a barrel in Asian trading.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 8.34 points at 15,662.08.
Shanghai share prices closed 0.29 percent higher, extending recent solid gains with a modest advance as heavyweight power generators and metal stocks made ground.
The Shanghai A-share Index rose 3.83 points to 1,316.22, while the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 0.53 point or 0.17 percent at 315.30.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, added 3.73 points or 0.30 percent at 1,255.31, a new nine-month high.
Sydney share prices closed 0.28 percent higher, ending a bumpy week on a positive note as solid overseas leads and strong metal prices provided support. The S&P/ASX 200 added 13.5 points to 4,854.4.
Singapore share prices closed 0.44 percent higher on gains in blue chips such as Singapore Airlines, as regional markets continued to stabilize.
The Straits Times Index rose 10.39 points to 2,388.91.
Malaysian share prices closed 0.30 percent higher due to gains in selected blue chips, with investors consolidating after a mid-week regional plunge.
The composite index gained 2.71 points to 905.41.
In Bangkok share prices closed 0.37 percent higher following reports that the family of Thailand's prime minister looks set to sell its majority stake in telecom giant Shin Corp to a Singapore firm.
The composite index gained 2.72 points to 747.70.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS