Asian shares turn in mixed performance
HONG KONG, Jan 17: Asian shares closed mixed on Thursday as bargain hunters emerged after a recent plunge, sending Japan’s market up more than two per cent, but US economic woe still overshadowed investor sentiment.
Analysts said investors were waiting for clues about the US economy due later Thursday from US central bank chief Ben Bernanke, amid rumours US interest rates could be cut sooner and more steeply than many had expected.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 2.07 per cent as investors hunted for bargains after four sessions of heavy losses, dealers said.
They said exporters also welcomed the yen’s fall from recent two-year highs against the dollar.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 278.94 points to close at 13,783.45, recovering from the previous day’s drop to levels unseen since October 2005.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares closed up 28.07 points or 2.16 per cent at 1,330.44.
Gaining shares outnumbered decliners 1,409 to 266, with 55 issues unchanged. Volume declined to 2.80 billion shares from 3.03 billion Wednesday.
“Investors appear to sense that the selling was overdone after the Nikkei fell briefly below the 13,500 support line,” said Toshio Sumitani, senior strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 2.72 per cent higher after a seesaw session, dealers said.
The positive performance helped the market snap a five-day losing streak.
The Hang Seng index closed up 664.13 points at 25,114.98. Turnover was 138.29 billion Hong Kong dollars (17.72 billion US).
HSBC rose 4.00 at 119.00, China Life surged 2.05 at 35.50 and HKEx was up 7.50 at 179.50.
China Mobile closed up 4.00 at 122.50, China Unicom was up 0.84 at 17.44 and China Telecom added 0.26 at 6.37.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.2 per cent amid continuing uncertainty about world market conditions, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 13.6 points at 5,796.1. The broader All Ordinaries index closed down 13.8 points at 5,857.0.
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed down 2.63 per cent after the latest hike in the bank reserve requirement sparked a wave of heavy selling, dealers said.The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 138.98 points at 5,151.63 on turnover of 174.74 billion yuan.
The Shanghai A-share index lost 2.63 per cent to 5,406.24. The Shenzhen A-share index fell 2.42 per cent to 1,580.40.
The central bank said the bank reserve ratio requirement would be lifted half a percentage point to 15.0 per cent on January 25.
The Shanghai B-share index was down 1.30 per cent to 356.78. The Shenzhen B-share Index fell 1.42 per cent to 686.47.
SEOUL: South Korean shares closed 1.1 per cent higher after a tug-of-war between bargain-hunters and investors still skittish about the state of the US economy, dealers said.
The KOSPI index ended 18.58 points higher at 1,723.55 after trading between 1,687.10 and 1,732.64. The benchmark index had shed over seven per cent over the past five sessions.
Volume was 288 million shares worth 5.9 trillion won.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.66 per cent higher in volatile trading as investors sought bargains, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index gained 81.39 points to close at 3,139.88, ending five days of declines. Volume was 2.55 billion shares worth 2.92 billion Singapore dollars.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed up 0.5 per cent on late bargain hunting, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rose 7.05 points to 1,460.71.
“The regional markets staged a technical rebound today ahead of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech later tonight, as investors expect some goodies from him, such as temporary tax cuts and further interest rate cuts,” said SJ Securities’ analyst Phua Kwee Hock.
Palm oil producer Sime Darby dropped 20 sen to 12.10 ringgit. Tenaga was down 10 sen to 9.65 ringgit.
BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 2.26 per cent higher in a technical rebound, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 17.45 points to 791.25, and bluechip SET-50 jumped 14.31 points to 573.14.
“The index rise surpassed our expectations due to a mild technical rebound, and investors are also optimistic about the Supreme Court ruling,” said Pongrat Rattanavananond, chief analyst at Bualuang Securities.
The kingdom’s Supreme Court will on Friday rule on a challenge to last month’s election outcome, after a political party argued that the winning People Power Party was an illegal front for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
PTT Plc surged 16.00 baht to 320.00. Its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production gained 2.00 to finish at 156.00.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed up 2.2 per cent after volatile trade, dealers said.
The Jakarta composite index closed up 56.97 points at 2,649.28.
“Trading was volatile Thursday but the market managed to bounce back in the afternoon session thanks to a rebound in regional markets,” said BNI Securities analyst Norico Gaman.
Telkom rose 250 rupiah to 9,200. Indosat rallied 250 to 7,250.
MANILA: Philippine share prices closed down 3.1 per cent, driving the main index to its weakest finish in more than four months, dealers said. The composite index lost 102.77 points to 3,248.89. The broader all-share index tumbled 62.36 points to 2,001.73.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone fell 65 pesos to 2,920. Ayala Corp. lost 17.50 pesos to 470. Philex Mining slid 50 centavos to 9.50 pesos.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.60 per cent lower, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 22.43 points to 3,729.96.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell 0.84 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex closed down 167.29 points at 19,700.82. The Sensex has lost 5.4 per cent in the past four trading days.
Reliance Industries fell 3.3 per cent despite a 162 per cent surge in its third quarter net profit.—AFP