Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Friday with investors cashing in on the recent rally which sent regional benchmarks to record and multi-year highs.
Dealers said there was also increasing concern over the US economy and whether Wall Street can sustain its record run which resulted in another all-time best finish overnight.
Hong Kong and Shanghai were among the losers on the day, although the focus was firmly on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC,
PHOTO: AFP
Elsewhere, Taipei was flat, Tokyo was down 0.18 percent, Sydney fell 0.58 percent and Seoul was 0.33 percent lower.
Wellington bucked the trend and rose 0.38 percent after its central bank decided earlier in the week to keep interest rates on hold. Manila gained 0.72 percent and continued trading at its highest levels in more than nine years.
Jakarta was closed for a public holiday.
TAIPEI
Share prices closed little changed in moderate trade as investors locked in early gains driven by the overnight strength in US equities, especially technology bellwethers on the NASDAQ.
Local technology heavyweights, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (
The weighted index was up 5.90 points at 7,086.74 on turnover of NT$85.86 billion (US$2.59 billion).
"Like yesterday, investors remained reluctant to help push the upside further ahead of a weekend and before the Taiwan stock index futures settlement on the Singapore Exchange," said Alvin Teng (鄧可欣), an assistant vice president with SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券).
But the caution does not signal an imminent downturn, he said, adding that the prospect of a resumed upswing well into next month remains intact.
With earnings uncertainties out of the way, investors are likely to move away from the sidelines soon, he said.
"More funds should be released for Taipei and other regional markets now that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has made a strong debut in Hong Kong," Teng added.
TOKYO
Share prices closed down 0.85 percent as investors opted to pocket gains despite the fresh highs posted overnight on Wall Street.
The NIKKEI-225 index fell 142.53 points to 16,669.07. Volume rose slightly to 1.79 billion shares from 1.78 billion on Thursday.
Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities, said the market reaction to earlier corporate earnings had been generally lackluster.
Dealers said some fund managers appeared to have shifted funds to China for the world record-breaking public offer of the ICBC in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Subdued local inflation data weighed on shares of banks because the figures reduced the possibility that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates again this year, said Ryuta Otsuka, strategist at Toyo Securities.
SEOUL
Share prices closed 0.33 percent lower as Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor tumbled on worries over their memory chip business outlook.
Dealers said the fall was sparked by Deutsche Bank downgrading its rating on Hynix to "hold" from "buy" after Hynix issued solid third-quarter results.
The brokerage warned that chip prices had peaked and investment in production lines might lead to a supply glut early next year.
The KOSPI closed down 4.56 points at 1,369.09.
HONG KONG
Share prices closed 0.31 percent lower as investors locked in profits after the benchmark index hit an all-time high in the morning session.
Dealers said ICBC, the country's largest lender, managed to sustain its gains after staging a strong debut in heavy trade.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 56.19 points at 18,297.55.
"Investors preferred to take profits in late trade after the index hit an all-time high," said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers.
"Further consolidation is on the horizon as the ICBC euphoria fades and as the focus shifts to other market factors like interest rate-sensitive data from the US," he added.
ICBC's strong performance on its debut helped support the overall index, said Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities.
SHANGHAI
Share prices closed 0.18 percent lower as investors locked in gains in the wake of a disappointing debut by ICBC.
Dealers said the market had been expecting a rise of 10-20 percent for ICBC but in the event, smaller investors took quick profits on the stock and there was not enough institutional support to pick up the slack.
ICBC also lagged the gains made by ICBC in Hong Kong, where the stock rose nearly 15 percent, and some dealers suggested the A-shares might pick up going forward after having got the initial profit-taking out of the way.
The Shanghai A-share Index lost 3.51 points to 1,898.64 and the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 5.59 points or 1.20 percent at 458.53. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares, closed down 3.47 points or 0.19 percent at 1,807.18.
SYDNEY
Share prices closed 0.58 percent lower on profit-taking, with an overnight fall in base metal and oil prices putting pressure on resource and energy stocks.
Dealers said Wall Street's fourth consecutive record high failed to boost sentiment and the country's worsening drought, now believed to be cutting 0.7 percentage points from growth, devastated the rural-based stocks.
The SP/ASX 200 lost 31.2 points to 5,358.5.
Aequs Securities head of institutional trading Ric Klusman said the market performed strongly over the week although some consolidation could be expected after Thursday's record highs.
SINGAPORE
Share prices closed 0.43 percent lower on profit taking after a record-breaking run.
Dealers said the market was ripe for profit taking after a series of record-busting runs since last week. The Straits Times Index fell 11.71 points to 2,729.98.
MUMBAI
Share prices rose 1.64 percent on sustained foreign fund buying in index heavyweights as Indian companies continued to show strong quarterly earnings growth.
Dealers said sentiment improved in index heavyweight Reliance Industries on reports that operations at the fire-hit refinery had returned to normal.
A major fire broke out Wednesday at the world's third largest oil refinery located in western India, leading to a shutdown of one of its 40 units and killing one worker.
The 30-share benchmark SENSEX index rose 208.4 points to 12,906.81.
"The market's buying momentum is strong. We could see the markets scale record levels next week," said Atul Hatwar, dealer at brokerage Crosseas Securities.
"The non-believers are out of the system," Hatwar added, referring to the possibility of the index scaling new peaks.
The SENSEX touched a record 12,994.45 on Oct. 17 before retracing on profit-taking.
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