Asia stocks close mixed on cautious trading
Saturday, September 29, 2007
ASIAN stocks closed mixed yesterday with investors adopting a cautious stance amid end of quarter window dressing and mild gains by Wall Street overnight.
Most markets were also bereft of solid domestic leads.
But given the volatility of the markets over recent months, primarily due to fears of a credit squeeze stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, most investors were content with the sidelines.
Shanghai stood out with 2.64 per cent surge to another record close. A 0.29 per cent gain in Hong Kong and a 0.5 rise in Sydney resulted in those markets also striking record finishes. Bangkok was up 0.29 per cent. Seoul, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Manila closed little changed, while gains elsewhere were mild.
Wellington eased 0.16 per cent, Jakarta was down 0.8 per cent ahead of the release of inflation data, while Singapore fell 0.23 per cent on profit taking at record peaks. Tokyo was down 0.28 per cent
In Tokyo, Japanese share prices closed mixed in subdued trading as investors refrained from buying ahead of a key central bank survey of business sentiment due next week.
Dealers said a raft of domestic data had given mixed signals on the health of the world's second largest economy, while modest overnight gains on Wall Street failed to inspire investors here.
The Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 46.53 points to 16,785.69. Turnover dropped to 1.86 billion shares from 2.08 billion shares Thursday.
In Hong Kong, share prices closed at yet another record high as China stocks drew strong interest in late trade, helping the market finish the third quarter on a strong note.
Dealers noted that several H-share firms drew strong interest after the Shanghai bourse hit a new high, with oil counters in the limelight after crude prices moved back to above US$83 a barrel.
Select blue chips also gained due to window-dressing activity by fund managers on the last trading day of September, but China property stocks finished weaker after Beijing announced new measures to cool the sector.
The Hang Seng index closed up 77.32 points at 27,142.47. Turnover also hit a new all-time-high at HK$148.58 billion ($28.2 billion).
Friday's session ends a quarter in which the market gained strong momentum on China's moves to facilitate more capital outflows and a larger-than-expected 50 basis points cut in US interest rates.
In the third quarter, the Hang Seng Index has gained 5,369.74 points or 25 per cent, while in the nine months to September it has risen 7,178 points or 36 per cent.
Chinese share prices, meanwhile, closed 2.64 per cent up to hit a record high on the last trading day for the third quarter, with energy and resources stocks leading gains.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 142.90 points at 5,552.30. Turnover rose to 138.82 billion yuan from 96.15 billion in the previous session.
"Sectors such as coal energy and resources, in which funds have large holdings, soared on institution support ahead of book-closing for the third quarter," said Liao Wenkai, an analyst at Hengtai Securities. AFP
Most markets were also bereft of solid domestic leads.
But given the volatility of the markets over recent months, primarily due to fears of a credit squeeze stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, most investors were content with the sidelines.
Shanghai stood out with 2.64 per cent surge to another record close. A 0.29 per cent gain in Hong Kong and a 0.5 rise in Sydney resulted in those markets also striking record finishes. Bangkok was up 0.29 per cent. Seoul, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Manila closed little changed, while gains elsewhere were mild.
Wellington eased 0.16 per cent, Jakarta was down 0.8 per cent ahead of the release of inflation data, while Singapore fell 0.23 per cent on profit taking at record peaks. Tokyo was down 0.28 per cent
In Tokyo, Japanese share prices closed mixed in subdued trading as investors refrained from buying ahead of a key central bank survey of business sentiment due next week.
Dealers said a raft of domestic data had given mixed signals on the health of the world's second largest economy, while modest overnight gains on Wall Street failed to inspire investors here.
The Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 46.53 points to 16,785.69. Turnover dropped to 1.86 billion shares from 2.08 billion shares Thursday.
In Hong Kong, share prices closed at yet another record high as China stocks drew strong interest in late trade, helping the market finish the third quarter on a strong note.
Dealers noted that several H-share firms drew strong interest after the Shanghai bourse hit a new high, with oil counters in the limelight after crude prices moved back to above US$83 a barrel.
Select blue chips also gained due to window-dressing activity by fund managers on the last trading day of September, but China property stocks finished weaker after Beijing announced new measures to cool the sector.
The Hang Seng index closed up 77.32 points at 27,142.47. Turnover also hit a new all-time-high at HK$148.58 billion ($28.2 billion).
Friday's session ends a quarter in which the market gained strong momentum on China's moves to facilitate more capital outflows and a larger-than-expected 50 basis points cut in US interest rates.
In the third quarter, the Hang Seng Index has gained 5,369.74 points or 25 per cent, while in the nine months to September it has risen 7,178 points or 36 per cent.
Chinese share prices, meanwhile, closed 2.64 per cent up to hit a record high on the last trading day for the third quarter, with energy and resources stocks leading gains.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 142.90 points at 5,552.30. Turnover rose to 138.82 billion yuan from 96.15 billion in the previous session.
"Sectors such as coal energy and resources, in which funds have large holdings, soared on institution support ahead of book-closing for the third quarter," said Liao Wenkai, an analyst at Hengtai Securities. AFP
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