Asian stock markets end mixed
Sunday, 19 October 2008
HONG KONG, Oct 18 (AP): Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight, with Japanese shares recovering from a historic fall in the previous session.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 235.27 points, or 2.78 per cent, at 8,693.82. The index was still far from recouping Thursday's 11.4 per cent loss - its biggest one-day percentage drop since the stock market crash of October 1987.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 5 per cent, much better than the 24 per cent it lost last week.
Compared to the gyrations earlier this week, Asian markets were moderately more stable.
Shanghai's index rose for the first time in a week. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over 4 per cent to 14,554.21, its lowest level in almost three years as selling accelerated late in the day after banks said they would help investors in Lehman Brothers-backed bonds recouped some of their money. Australia, Singapore and South Korea also closed lower.
"Within Asia, people are getting worried about a recession," said Daniel McCormack, a strategist for Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. "Today people are trying to work out which sector, which stocks, which companies are going to get hit and starting to position themselves accordingly."
Governments across Asia remained focused on the financial crisis. Late Thursday, Malaysia said it would guarantee all bank deposits for the next two years, following similar moves by Hong Kong and Singapore amid fears about the health of banks.
In Hong Hong, banks were hit with a late-day bout of selling after the territory's banking association agreed to help repay investors in Lehman-backed bonds whose values have been in doubt since the Wall Street firm collapsed last month.
Top China lender ICBC lost 5.3 per cent, while China Construction Bank tanked more than 9 per cent.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 235.27 points, or 2.78 per cent, at 8,693.82. The index was still far from recouping Thursday's 11.4 per cent loss - its biggest one-day percentage drop since the stock market crash of October 1987.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 5 per cent, much better than the 24 per cent it lost last week.
Compared to the gyrations earlier this week, Asian markets were moderately more stable.
Shanghai's index rose for the first time in a week. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over 4 per cent to 14,554.21, its lowest level in almost three years as selling accelerated late in the day after banks said they would help investors in Lehman Brothers-backed bonds recouped some of their money. Australia, Singapore and South Korea also closed lower.
"Within Asia, people are getting worried about a recession," said Daniel McCormack, a strategist for Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. "Today people are trying to work out which sector, which stocks, which companies are going to get hit and starting to position themselves accordingly."
Governments across Asia remained focused on the financial crisis. Late Thursday, Malaysia said it would guarantee all bank deposits for the next two years, following similar moves by Hong Kong and Singapore amid fears about the health of banks.
In Hong Hong, banks were hit with a late-day bout of selling after the territory's banking association agreed to help repay investors in Lehman-backed bonds whose values have been in doubt since the Wall Street firm collapsed last month.
Top China lender ICBC lost 5.3 per cent, while China Construction Bank tanked more than 9 per cent.