Asian shares mixed after Spain rating downgrade
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
BANGKOK, May 31 (Agencies): Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday as investors shrugged off more sobering news about Europe's shaky finances amid new signs Asia's economies are continuing to recover.
Oil, meanwhile, rose above $74 a barrel, and the dollar gained against the yen and weakened against the euro.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrials shed 1.2 per cent to 10,136.63 after Fitch Ratings gave Spain the second downgrade of its credit rating in a month. The rating agency's action gave investors another reminder of the long-term economic problems still facing debt-laden European countries.
The news, however, did not come as a shock to investors in Asia, where expectations of a downgrade of Spain had been circulating for some time. Markets in Asia were mixed in early trade and then mostly headed higher.
"Asians were prepared for the downgrade for Spain,'' said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd in Hong Kong. "So Asian markets are quite stable today. Even Bangkok is up.''
Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong, also said he viewed Asia as stabilising, despite some investor nervousness.
"The momentum is still on the positive side,'' Wong said. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 45.13 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 9,806.24 amid news that industrial production in the world's No 2 economy rose for a second straight month in April, propelled by robust growth in China and the rest of Asia.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8 per cent to 1,635.66 and Taiwan's benchmark added 0.7 per cent to 7,349.65.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 per cent to 4,447.9 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed at 19,763.98.
In Seoul, Ssangyong Motor Co surged more than 14 per cent after several companies, including India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, expressed interest in buying the troubled SUV maker.
Still, concerns about a possible slowdown in global demand hit big commodity names. Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp lost 0.6 per cent and Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd fell 1.2 per cent.
Japanese exporters gained as the yen weakened. Canon Inc rose 1.2 per cent, and Nissan Motor Co advanced 1.1 per cent.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.2 per cent in New York Friday, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.9 per cent.
Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said Monday that the outlook for the United States was still good and that he does not expect a double dip recession.
Oil, meanwhile, rose above $74 a barrel, and the dollar gained against the yen and weakened against the euro.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrials shed 1.2 per cent to 10,136.63 after Fitch Ratings gave Spain the second downgrade of its credit rating in a month. The rating agency's action gave investors another reminder of the long-term economic problems still facing debt-laden European countries.
The news, however, did not come as a shock to investors in Asia, where expectations of a downgrade of Spain had been circulating for some time. Markets in Asia were mixed in early trade and then mostly headed higher.
"Asians were prepared for the downgrade for Spain,'' said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd in Hong Kong. "So Asian markets are quite stable today. Even Bangkok is up.''
Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong, also said he viewed Asia as stabilising, despite some investor nervousness.
"The momentum is still on the positive side,'' Wong said. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 45.13 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 9,806.24 amid news that industrial production in the world's No 2 economy rose for a second straight month in April, propelled by robust growth in China and the rest of Asia.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8 per cent to 1,635.66 and Taiwan's benchmark added 0.7 per cent to 7,349.65.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 per cent to 4,447.9 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed at 19,763.98.
In Seoul, Ssangyong Motor Co surged more than 14 per cent after several companies, including India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, expressed interest in buying the troubled SUV maker.
Still, concerns about a possible slowdown in global demand hit big commodity names. Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp lost 0.6 per cent and Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd fell 1.2 per cent.
Japanese exporters gained as the yen weakened. Canon Inc rose 1.2 per cent, and Nissan Motor Co advanced 1.1 per cent.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.2 per cent in New York Friday, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.9 per cent.
Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said Monday that the outlook for the United States was still good and that he does not expect a double dip recession.