Tokyo, Beijing stocks end higher
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
TOKYO, July 28 (AFP): Japanese share prices closed flat Tuesday as investors took a breather after a nine-day winning streak for the Nikkei index, its longest unbroken rally in more than two decades.
The mood turned cautious ahead of a slew of domestic corporate earnings results and US economic data.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 1.40 points, or 0.01 per cent, to end at 10,087.26. The broader Topix index of all first section shares gained 1.87 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 930.13.
"It's natural that profit taking emerged but we can say the market was very solid," said Hideaki Higashi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.
"There are hopes for a (global) economic recovery later this year. It seems unlikely that prices will enter a new tailspin from this level," he said.
Hitachi dampened the mood somewhat by announcing a net loss of 82.7 billion yen (870 million dollars) for the fiscal first quarter, with sales down heavily amid the economic downturn. Hitachi shares fell 3.6 per cent to 293 yen.
Steelmaker JFE Holdings surged 7.3 per cent to 3,550 yen as the company forecast a better-than-expected full-year net profit of 24 billion yen.
Sapporo Holdings jumped 5.4 per cent after the beer maker said its net loss for the six months to June would be much smaller than previously anticipated.
Canon lost 0.3 per cent to 3,370 yen. After the closing bell it announced its net profit tumbled 84.5 per cent in the first half of 2009.
Meanwhile, Chinese shares edged up Tuesday, as ample liquidity nudged Shanghai's key index higher for the fifth consecutive session to a 14-month high, dealers said.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 0.09 per cent, or 3.16 points at 3,438.37 on turnover of 243.6 billion yuan (35.7 billion dollars).
It was the highest close since June 2, 2008, when it ended at 3,459.04.
Analysts said investors are likely to push shares higher still in coming sessions, but added the market may be nearing its peak.
The nation's biggest home builder China State Construction Engineering, which raised 7.3 billion dollars in the world's largest initial public offering in more than a year, said it will make its debut in Shanghai Wednesday.
"The stock index may continue to rise in the short term but the recent surges have almost eaten up the potential gains in the market," Qian Qimin, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.
The A-share market's average price to earnings ratio, a measure of stock prices, was too high given the fundamentals, analysts said, putting prices at around 40 times greater than earnings per share.
"Most companies' growth prospects don't support such levels", Qian said.
Steel makers gained on expectations demand for steel products will increase as China's recovery picks up pace.
The nation's largest steel maker Baoshan Iron and Steel jumped 8.7 per cent to 9.40 yuan.
Banks bucked the uptrend, after the banking regulator tightened rules governing loans for infrastructure projects.
Bank of China dropped 0.2 per cent to 4.60 yuan and Citic Bank fell 0.9 per cent to 6.39 yuan.
The mood turned cautious ahead of a slew of domestic corporate earnings results and US economic data.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 1.40 points, or 0.01 per cent, to end at 10,087.26. The broader Topix index of all first section shares gained 1.87 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 930.13.
"It's natural that profit taking emerged but we can say the market was very solid," said Hideaki Higashi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.
"There are hopes for a (global) economic recovery later this year. It seems unlikely that prices will enter a new tailspin from this level," he said.
Hitachi dampened the mood somewhat by announcing a net loss of 82.7 billion yen (870 million dollars) for the fiscal first quarter, with sales down heavily amid the economic downturn. Hitachi shares fell 3.6 per cent to 293 yen.
Steelmaker JFE Holdings surged 7.3 per cent to 3,550 yen as the company forecast a better-than-expected full-year net profit of 24 billion yen.
Sapporo Holdings jumped 5.4 per cent after the beer maker said its net loss for the six months to June would be much smaller than previously anticipated.
Canon lost 0.3 per cent to 3,370 yen. After the closing bell it announced its net profit tumbled 84.5 per cent in the first half of 2009.
Meanwhile, Chinese shares edged up Tuesday, as ample liquidity nudged Shanghai's key index higher for the fifth consecutive session to a 14-month high, dealers said.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 0.09 per cent, or 3.16 points at 3,438.37 on turnover of 243.6 billion yuan (35.7 billion dollars).
It was the highest close since June 2, 2008, when it ended at 3,459.04.
Analysts said investors are likely to push shares higher still in coming sessions, but added the market may be nearing its peak.
The nation's biggest home builder China State Construction Engineering, which raised 7.3 billion dollars in the world's largest initial public offering in more than a year, said it will make its debut in Shanghai Wednesday.
"The stock index may continue to rise in the short term but the recent surges have almost eaten up the potential gains in the market," Qian Qimin, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.
The A-share market's average price to earnings ratio, a measure of stock prices, was too high given the fundamentals, analysts said, putting prices at around 40 times greater than earnings per share.
"Most companies' growth prospects don't support such levels", Qian said.
Steel makers gained on expectations demand for steel products will increase as China's recovery picks up pace.
The nation's largest steel maker Baoshan Iron and Steel jumped 8.7 per cent to 9.40 yuan.
Banks bucked the uptrend, after the banking regulator tightened rules governing loans for infrastructure projects.
Bank of China dropped 0.2 per cent to 4.60 yuan and Citic Bank fell 0.9 per cent to 6.39 yuan.