Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday as investors focused on domestic issues and consolidated in the wake of recent sharp gains and overnight falls on Wall Street.
Tokyo was weighed down by New York, particularly its tech sector, with the benchmark falling 0.35 percent. Taipei followed suit and fell 0.7 percent, while Seoul slumped 1.64 percent.
Mumbai dropped 0.25 percent and Wellington eased 0.13 percent, both coming off record highs, while Kuala Lumpur and Sydney ended the day even.
PHOTO: EPA
However, brighter earnings prospects propelled Singapore by 0.37 percent to another record high as Shanghai also struck an all-time closing high, up 2.73 percent on a fresh bout of capital inflows.
More modest gains were registered in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta.
TAIPEI
Share prices closed down 0.7 percent at the day's low after heavy losses in the tech stocks on Wall Street overnight and as US data dampened hopes for a US interest rate cut.
Dealers said bellwether technology stocks were hit as they followed their US peers following Apple's disappointing guidance.
The weighted index lost 55.10 points at 7,840.08 on turnover of NT$117.47 billion (US$3.58 billion).
Tank Hung, a manager with Mega International Investment Services, said the Wall Street lead offered a direction for the local bourse that was already clouded by uncertainty following the recent rebound.
"Given the recovery recently, investors were eager to take profit while those who built high positions offloaded their holdings a long time ago to cut their losses," Hung said.
He said that the Apple factor also weighed down local firms involved in the supply chain of global technology.
Looking ahead, Hung expects the local bourse to be influenced by Wall Street moves and upcoming corporate earnings reports.
TOKYO
Share prices closed 0.35 percent lower, weighed down by heavy overnight losses in tech stocks on Wall Street.
Dealers said that the market dip may have been limited by a weaker yen, which slumped to a near four-year low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan decided not to raise interest rates on Thursday.
The NIKKEI-225 index fell 60.49 points to 17,310.44. Volume fell to 1.89 billion shares from 2.30 billion on Thursday.
"A broadly-based decline in heavy-weight technology shares in the wake of the unimpressive earnings news from Apple and Intel weighed on the broader market," Shinko Securities market analyst Yutaka Miura said.
Apple on Thursday gave an earnings forecast for this quarter that was below market estimates and on Wednesday Intel Corp announced margin estimates for this year that were also lower than expectations.
HONG KONG
Share prices closed 0.25 percent firmer on gains in index heavyweight HSBC and other select blue chips as investors switched out of China plays in rotational moves.
Dealers said that trade was generally cautious following Wall Street's weakness overnight after the latest US economic data dashed hopes for an early cut in US interest rates.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 50.21 points at 20,327.72.
SEOUL
Share prices closed 1.64 percent lower, with the tech stocks extending losses after Apple's disappointing outlook guidance.
Dealers said a stronger won against the yen did not help exporters while the latest US data dampened hopes for an early US interest rate cut.
The KOSPI index lost 22.65 points at 1,360.56.
SHANGHAI
Share prices jumped 2.73 percent, chalking up another record finish on continued strong capital inflows, with banks and auto makers in favor.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, rose 75.22 points to 2,832.21.
SYDNEY
Share prices closed flat after a flurry of late support left the market back in record territory.
The SP/ASX 200 added 0.7 points to 5,673.1.
SINGAPORE
Share prices closed at another record high Friday on selected buying of blue chips.
The Straits Times Index closed up 11.23 points or 0.37 percent.
KUALA LUMPUR
Share prices closed flat as the market took a breather after five straight days of gains.
Dealers said that construction stocks came under profit-taking pressure after posting strong gains yesterday.
The composite index inched up 0.10 points to 1,147.76.
BANGKOK
Share prices closed 0.50 percent higher on selective buying of rate-sensitive bluechip stocks amid improved sentiment among foreign investors. The composite index gained 3.28 points to 658.17.
MUMBAI
Share prices closed down 0.25 percent in choppy trade, shedding early gains as investors booked profit at higher levels after strong third-quarter earnings from Indian companies.
The 30-share SENSEX closed down 35.04 points to 14,182.71.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS