HONG KONG, Jan 18: Asian shares closed mixed Friday after recovering from panic selling triggered by US economic woe as investors pinned their hopes on urgent moves to avoid recession in the world’s largest economy.
President George W. Bush was due later Friday to announce temporary, short-term measures to boost the ailing US economy, a key buyer of Asian goods.
The moves were expected to include tax breaks and rebates.
Asian markets had tumbled before anticipation of the stimulus package helped to pare back losses. Some bourses even managed to end up on a day when the US slowdown helped to send oil prices below 90 dollars per barrel.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices ended up 0.56 per cent on hopes for a US economic stimulus package, capping a dramatic late turnaround after a severe morning sell-off, dealers said.
Investors hunted for bargains as they shifted focus forward to remarks later Friday by US President George W. Bush, who was expected to announce measures to help the world’s largest economy avoid recession.
The market had tumbled in the morning to 26-month lows in line with Wall Street after a bleak picture on the US economy from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index ended up 77.84 points at 13,861.29. The index had fallen a hefty 2.81 per cent in the morning.
The broader Topix index of all-first section shares rose 11.06 points or 0.83 per cent at 1,341.50. In morning trade, it slid below the symbolic 1,300-point line.
Gaining shares outnumbered decliners 1,284 to 383, with 63 issues unchanged. Volume fell to 2.73 billion shares from 2.80 billion shares Thursday.
“Bargain-hunting interest was brisk following the recent sell-off,” said Katsuhiko Hiroshige, general manager of equities trading at Marusan Securities.
“But investors refrained from chasing prices much higher as they are still cautious about the US outlook,” he said.
Many players in Tokyo were eager to find optimistic leads in Bush’s announcement, said Shunichi Umemoto, analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
“Everyone is waiting for the announcement of the US stimulus package. We just have to see how many details President Bush will announce,” he said.
Mitsui Fudosan rose 5.87 per cent to 2,255. Nippon Steel rose 5.24 per cent to 663. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 0.31 per cent to 975.
Sony lost 0.88 per cent to 5,610. Toyota Motors dropped 0.55 per cent to 5,440. Nintendo went up 3.75 per cent to 55,300.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.35 per cent, dealers said.
They said the market opened sharply lower after a sell-off on Wall Street, but recovered in the afternoon on hopes a US economic stimulus plan.
The Hang Seng index closed up 86.89 points at 25,201.87. Turnover was 127.36 billion Hong Kong dollars. For the week the index was down 6.2 per cent.
“The market had another rollercoaster ride, with early losses offset by interest in China telecom firms and China financials,” said Tony Tong, deputy head of research at China Everbright Securities.
HSBC was down 0.60 at 118.40, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing gained 4.80 to 184.30, Hutchison Whampoa was up 0.30 at 80.20 and China Life rose 0.80 at 36.30.
Oil stocks were down after crude oil prices fell below 90 dollars per barrel in Asian trade. CNOOC was down 0.34 at 11.82 and PetroChina fell 0.04 to 12.34.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices finished down 0.8 per cent as confidence waned, dealers said.
They said the market had plunged 3.0 per cent on opening but had pared back the losses by the end of the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing down 48.8 points at 5,747.3.
The All Ordinaries ended 57.6 points or 1.0 per cent lower at 5,799.4 as 1.89 billion shares worth 7.61 billion dollars (6.72 billion US) changed hands.
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed up 0.56 per cent, dealers said.
They said the Shanghai bourse was in negative territory after an overnight Wall Street slump before it changed direction in late afternoon trade.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 28.89 points at 5,180.51 on turnover of 118.37 billion yuan.
The Shanghai A-share index rose 0.57 per cent to 5,436.88. The Shenzhen A-share index was up 1.16 per cent at 1,598.68.
The Shanghai B-share index fell 0.64 per cent to 354.50. The Shenzhen B-share index lost 0.38 per cent at 683.87.
TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed up 1.02 per cent after reversing sharp falls, dealers said.
The weighted index closed up 83.02 points at 8,184.65 on turnover of 165.69 billion Taiwan dollars.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.13 per cent lower, dealers said.
The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 35.63 points at 3,104.25 on volume of 2.07 billion shares worth 2.32 billion Singapore dollars.
Dealers said the market had recovered from earlier heavier losses, adding investor attention had shifted to a forthcoming US economic stimulus package.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 1.5 per cent, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was down 21.22 points at 1,439.49.
“I believe the bull run is coming to an end. It is based on the growing likelihood that the US will be hit by a recession,” said Pong Teng Siew of MIMB Investment Bank.
Power supplier Tenaga slipped five sen to 9.60 ringgit. Maybank, the largest bank in Malaysia, dropped 10 sen to 12.10 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.4 per cent lower, dealers said.
The Jakarta composite index closed down 38.15 points at 2,611.13.
“Investors remained cautious,” said Krisna Dwi Setiawan of Valbury Asia Securities.
“Although some markets bounced back ahead of Bush’s announcement (of a US stimulus package), investors here want to see first how Wall Street will respond tonight.”
Nickel miner Antam lost 300 rupiah to 3,700, Bank Rakyat Indonesia fell 150 to 7,100, and Perusahaan Gas Negara lost 300 to 12,850.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed down 1.76 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 65.61 points to 3,664.36.
“Some (stocks) had small movements, others had bigger, a lot of it depended on liquidity in stocks,” said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities. Telecom was rose a cent at 4.14 dollars. Fletcher Building fell 19 cents to 10.01 dollars. Contact Energy dropped 25 cents to 7.50.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell 3.49 per cent, the fifth straight drop, dealers said.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex fell 687.12 points at 19,013.7. It has shed 9.5 per cent in the last five trading days.
“Investors are clearly risk wary. Global trends are not too positive at this stage,” said Atul Mehra of J.M.Financial.
India’s third-largest software firm Wipro fell 1.11 per cent to 455.3 after posting lower-than-expected third-quarter net profit.—AFP
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