Asian shares close mostly down
HONG KONG, Jan 7: Asian shares closed mostly down on Monday amid mounting fears of a US recession, with Taiwan plunging more than four per cent, but India and Malaysia bucked the trend to achieve record highs.
A near two per cent slide on Wall Street on Friday in the wake of weak US jobs data cast a pall over much of Asia. Taiwan and Singapore were among the worst hit major markets, falling 4.11 per cent and 2.46 per cent respectively.Elsewhere Japan fell 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong shed 1.24 per cent and Seoul was down 1.8 per cent.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices slumped to close down 1.3 per cent at a fresh 17-month low as growing fears of a US recession cast a long shadow over global markets, dealers said.
The Tokyo market has now lost more than five per cent of its value since the start of 2008, they added.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 190.86 points to 14,500.55, the lowest closing level since July 19, 2006.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares lost 19.20 points or 1.36 per cent to 1,392.71.
Decliners outnumbered gainers 1,187 to 442, with 97 issues unchanged.
Turnover was 2.06 billion shares, compared with 1.42 billion during Friday’s half-day session.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 1.24 per cent following a sell-off on Wall Street, dealers said.The Hang Seng index closed down 340.2 points at 27,179.49 on turnover of 113.54 billion Hong Kong dollars (14.54 billion US).
Sourcing firm Li and Fung, which supplies companies like Wal-Mart, tumbled 6.6 per cent on worries over reduced US demand.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices tumbled 2.3 per cent following falls on Wall Street amid increasing concerns about the US economy, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 145.2 points to 6,161.6 while the broader All Ordinaries slumped 145 points to 6,240.4. Turnover was 1.63 billion shares worth 4.57 billion dollars (4.00 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.46 per cent lower on fears the US is heading for recession, dealers said.
The main Straits Times Index (STI) closed down 84.73 points at 3,353.06 on volume of 1.62 billion shares worth 1.94 billion dollars (1.35 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.3 per cent higher to hit a new high, helped by palm oil stocks, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) gained 4.1 points to close at 1,470.77, off an all-time intra-day high of 1,473.74.
Trading volume was 926.09 million shares valued at 2.03 billion ringgit (619 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed up 0.4 per cent after bouncing back from early losses, dealers said.The Jakarta composite index closed up 11.22 points at 2,776.41.
What may probably best explain the market’s rebound is liquidity inflows,said Ratna Lim, an analyst at Mega Capital Indonesia.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.43 per cent lower after Wall Street weakness and fears of a US recession hit sentiment in Asia, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 57.24 points to 3,953.58 on turnover worth 64.6 million dollars (49.3 million US).
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 0.61 per cent at a fresh record despite falls elsewhere in Asia, dealers said.—AFP