Asian stocks close mostly lower despite US rally
HONG KONG, Nov 28: Asian stocks closed mostly down on Wednesday despite an overnight Wall Street rally as investors fretted about US economic prospects and potential moves to slow the Chinese economy.
Tokyo was down 0.45 per cent, Shanghai and Taipei both slipped 1.19 per cent, Seoul was down 1.4 per cent, Sydney shed 1.0 per cent and Mumbai closed down 0.99 per cent.
Hong Kong was the only major market to buck the trend, rising 0.59 per cent.
Analysts said investors generally failed to respond to a rally on Wall Street on Tuesday, which was triggered after news of a multibillion dollar cash injection into ailing US banking giant Citigroup.
That piece of news had already been factored in by Asian stocks earlier, they said.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.45 per cent as investors took profits from the recent rebound amid jitters about the US subprime mortgage crisis, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 69.07 points to 15,153.78, falling for the first time in four trading days.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares dipped 3.14 points or 0.21 per cent to 1,475.64. Gainers outnumbered decliners 835 to 762, with 121 issues unchanged. Turnover declined to 1.98 billion shares from 2.34 billion on Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.59 per cent higher partly on fresh hopes for a US interest rate cut next month, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 161.03 points at 27,371.24, off a low of 27,028.67 and a high of 27,455.81. Turnover was 104.13 billion Hong Kong dollars (13.35 billion US).
The local market reflected the volatility of markets overseas, with the US rebound last night helping the bourse close higher today, said Matthew Kwok, research head at Tanrich Securities.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 1.0 per cent as global financial concerns and a drop in commodity prices weighed on the market, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 62.6 points to close at 6,370.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 60.8 or 0.9 per cent to 6,432.8.
Macquarie Private Wealth private client adviser Joseph Youssef said a surge on Wall Street overnight had little effect.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed little changed in cautious trading Wednesday after an overnight Wall Street rally, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index dipped 2.92 points to settle at 3,369.72 on volume of 1.50 billion shares worth 1.70 billion Singapore dollars (1.18 billion US).
Declining stocks outpaced risers 411 to 286 with 1,016 issued unchanged.
Banking stocks fell across the board. DBS Group declined 30 cents to 18.90 dollars, United Overseas Bank was down 20 cents to 18.70 dollars and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropped five cents to 8.30 dollars.
Singapore Telecom rose six cents to 3.72 dollars and publisher Singapore Press Holdings added six cents to 4.64 dollars. Singapore Airlines fell 20 cents to 17.60 dollars and Keppel Corp. tumbled 10 cents to 12.50 dollars.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices edged up 0.1 per cent as late buying of selected blue-chips kept the main index in positive territory, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) closed up 1.59 points at 1,366.58 with volume at 1.034 billion shares valued at 1.30 billion ringgit (385 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.7 per cent higher Wednesday, keeping track with gains on Wall Street, dealers said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 43.94 points at 2,671.90.
Volume was 3.83 billion shares valued at 8.53 trillion rupiah (906.19 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.80 per cent, failing to respond positively to gains on Wall Street, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 33.03 points to close at 4,071.03 on turnover worth 175.2 million dollars (133.0 million US).
Auckland Airport fell two cents to 2.93 dollars. Chairman John Maasland resigned Tuesday.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed down 0.99 per cent, slipping below the 19,000-point level on weak Asian market trends, dealers said.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index slid 188.86 points to 18,938.87, losing ground for the second straight day.
Overseas funds have sold 1.03 billion dollars worth of Indian equities in November. But they have been net buyers for the year, purchasing a total of 16.27 billion dollars in shares. –AFP