Global shares yesterday retreated in thin trading as the year was ending.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended 1 percent lower, at 39,894.54 points. The last trading session of the year ended on a somber note with the Japan Exchange Group CEO Hiromi Yamaji apologizing during the traditional year-end ceremony over a recent insider trading case.
“I acknowledge trust toward the market is essential for investors to trade with confidence,” Yamaji said.
Photo: AFP
The exchange is working to improve training and verify findings of an independent investigation, he said, adding that “we are doing are our utmost best to rebuild trust and prevent this from happening again.”
Overall, the Nikkei 225 index gained about 20 percent this year, finally surpassing the high seen before Japan’s asset bubble burst in the 1990s.
The yen was little changed after hitting 157.89 against the US dollar on Thursday, the lowest in almost six months.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 0.2 percent to 2,399.49 and shares of Jeju Air Co lost 8.7 percent after one of the company’s jets skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete wall and burst into flames on Sunday, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard.
Another Jeju Air flight had to return after encountering a landing gear problem yesterday, the airline said.
Authorities ordered an inspection of all Boeing Co 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s carriers.
The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing in a dispiriting year, following a machinists’ strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and plunging stock price.
The TAIEX in Taipei was down 0.37 percent at 23,190.20.
“The TAIEX was again guided by US markets, with electronics stocks largely weaker,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said.
“As many foreign institutional investors have not returned, turnover was light, leaving the TAIEX in consolidation,” Huang said.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.2 percent at 20,041.42, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2 percent to 3,407.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3 percent to 8,235.00.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1 percent. About 90 percent of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7 percent for the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 percent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite fell 1.5 percent.
The losses were worsened by sharp declines for big tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7,” which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size.
Despite Friday’s drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of about 25 percent this year. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20 percent, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.
Additional reporting by CNA and AFP
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