Asian stocks decline as dollar rebounds
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Asian stocks snapped two days of gains Tuesday, as the dollar edged up against the euro after a decline in the previous session, limiting the investment appeal of commodities, reports RTTNews.
The yen remained strong at the upper-80 level against the dollar, pressuring Japanese exporters, ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting Thursday.
Meanwhile, some disagreement among economists concerning whether the Federal Reserve will initiate another round of quantitative easing at its November 2-3 meeting also weighed on sentiment to some extent.
A strong yen along with investor caution before the release of earnings reports from major export companies due later in the week dragged the Japanese market modestly lower on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei ended another session of range-bound trading 0.25 per cent lower at 9,377, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 3 points or 0.40 per cent.
Brokerage stocks led the declines, followed by nonferrous metal and rubber product securities, while oil product and mining issues witnessed selective buying.
Sony Corp ended 0.66 per cent higher, erasing its initial loss amid reports that the electronics maker could be a potential target of Apple Inc. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank by market capitalisation, shed 0.83 per cent and Canon Inc., the world's biggest camera maker, eased 1.07 per cent, while energy explorer Inpex ended up 0.92 per cent, helped by the overnight rise in crude prices.
The South Korean market ended a range-bound session modestly higher, bolstered by continued purchases by overseas investors amid expectations of more inflows into emerging market currencies, including the South Korean won. The benchmark KOSPI index ended up 4 points or 0.19 per cent at 1,919, extending its winning streak for a fifth consecutive session.
Construction firm Doosan Engineering rose 3.44 per cent on expectations of low interest rates and Kia Motors added 2.26 per cent on a brokerage upgrade, while financial stocks such as Industrial Bank of Korea fell on profit taking.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed about half a per cent, dragged down by financials, as investors took some profits following recent gains. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 0.4 per cent. ASX, the operator of the Australian stock market, plunged 7.38 per cent on hectic volume, as Singapore Exchange's move to take over ASX faced political hurdles.
WorleyParsons closed 3.58 per cent lower after the energy and resource contractor said a strong Australian dollar will have a negative impact on its current year earnings ending June 30,2011. Financial stocks such as Commonwealth Bank eased 1.51 per cent, Westpac slipped 0.48 per cent and Macquarie Group declined 0.9 per cent, while big miners BHP Billion (up 0.22 per cent) and Rio Tinto (down 0.05 per cent) closed mixed.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended down 0.32 per cent at 3042, dragged down by banks and insurers, as investors took profits after recent gains. However, property developers like China Vanke and Poly Real Estate Group added between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, limiting the downside. China Oilfield Services gained 2.2 per cent after China raised retail prices of fuel.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 0.11 per cent lower and India's 30-share BSE Sensex was down 0.28 per cent, while the markets in Malaysia and Taiwan ended modestly higher.
The yen remained strong at the upper-80 level against the dollar, pressuring Japanese exporters, ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting Thursday.
Meanwhile, some disagreement among economists concerning whether the Federal Reserve will initiate another round of quantitative easing at its November 2-3 meeting also weighed on sentiment to some extent.
A strong yen along with investor caution before the release of earnings reports from major export companies due later in the week dragged the Japanese market modestly lower on Tuesday. The benchmark Nikkei ended another session of range-bound trading 0.25 per cent lower at 9,377, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 3 points or 0.40 per cent.
Brokerage stocks led the declines, followed by nonferrous metal and rubber product securities, while oil product and mining issues witnessed selective buying.
Sony Corp ended 0.66 per cent higher, erasing its initial loss amid reports that the electronics maker could be a potential target of Apple Inc. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank by market capitalisation, shed 0.83 per cent and Canon Inc., the world's biggest camera maker, eased 1.07 per cent, while energy explorer Inpex ended up 0.92 per cent, helped by the overnight rise in crude prices.
The South Korean market ended a range-bound session modestly higher, bolstered by continued purchases by overseas investors amid expectations of more inflows into emerging market currencies, including the South Korean won. The benchmark KOSPI index ended up 4 points or 0.19 per cent at 1,919, extending its winning streak for a fifth consecutive session.
Construction firm Doosan Engineering rose 3.44 per cent on expectations of low interest rates and Kia Motors added 2.26 per cent on a brokerage upgrade, while financial stocks such as Industrial Bank of Korea fell on profit taking.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed about half a per cent, dragged down by financials, as investors took some profits following recent gains. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 0.4 per cent. ASX, the operator of the Australian stock market, plunged 7.38 per cent on hectic volume, as Singapore Exchange's move to take over ASX faced political hurdles.
WorleyParsons closed 3.58 per cent lower after the energy and resource contractor said a strong Australian dollar will have a negative impact on its current year earnings ending June 30,2011. Financial stocks such as Commonwealth Bank eased 1.51 per cent, Westpac slipped 0.48 per cent and Macquarie Group declined 0.9 per cent, while big miners BHP Billion (up 0.22 per cent) and Rio Tinto (down 0.05 per cent) closed mixed.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended down 0.32 per cent at 3042, dragged down by banks and insurers, as investors took profits after recent gains. However, property developers like China Vanke and Poly Real Estate Group added between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, limiting the downside. China Oilfield Services gained 2.2 per cent after China raised retail prices of fuel.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 0.11 per cent lower and India's 30-share BSE Sensex was down 0.28 per cent, while the markets in Malaysia and Taiwan ended modestly higher.