Asian stocks close mostly lower
HONG KONG, Feb 29: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Friday as Wall Street’s weakness, record oil prices and a weak US dollar -- which makes regional exports more expensive -- weighed heavily on sentiment.
Comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that small US banks could collapse amid the ongoing subprime credit crisis also left their mark with Tokyo slumping 2.32 percent and Sydney and Seoul each falling 1.4 per cent.
Oil soared to a record $103.05 per barrel on speculative trading while the greenback struck a fresh record of $1.5239 against the Euro.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices slumped more than two percent as losses on Wall Street, a stronger yen and soaring oil prices spooked investors.
Dealers said markets were rattled by downbeat comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, while a raft of Japanese data failed to ease market concerns about the health of the domestic economy.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 322.4 points to 13,603.02. Volume rose to 1.98 billion shares from 1.86 billion Thursday.
Optimistic sentiment receded as Bernanke’s remarks and weak economic data reminded the market of the risk of the US economy slipping into a recession,said Toshio Sumitani, senior strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.1 per cent lower, ending a three-day rally, on profit-taking in property stocks and weakness in HSBC ahead of its results announcement.
The Hang Seng index closed down 260.02 points at 24,331.67. Turnover was 80.14 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.29 billion US).
Turnover remained low as investors took note of falls on overseas bourses amid worries over the US economy, record oil prices and a slumping greenback.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices ended down 1.4 per cent as banking and other financial stocks fell.
Dealers said the finance sector led the market down after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments that small banks in the US could collapse amid the ongoing subprime credit crisis.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 79.1 points at 5,572.1. Turnover was 1.72 billion shares worth 8.58 billion dollars (8.06 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.55 per cent lower following Wall Street’s lead after fresh economic data renewed fears of a recession in the world’s biggest economy.
The Straits Times Index closed down 47.70 points at 3,026.45 on volume of 1.45 billion shares worth 2.02 billion Singapore dollars (1.45 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.8 per cent lower as cautious investors sold down on selected bluechips.
The composite index lost 10.87 points at 1,357.40.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.3 perc ent lower on profit-taking mainly in major stocks such as Telkom and carmaker Astra International after their recent strong run.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed flat as solid reporting from some companies was countered by a broader market weakness.
The NZX-50 index gained a mere 3.15 points to 3,582.72 on turnover worth $99.01 million (80.18 million US).
MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell 1.38 per cent as India’s Congress party-led government announced a populist pre-election budget, including a 15-billion-dollar loan bailout for small farmers.
The 30-share Sensex index fell 245.76 points to 17,578.72.—AFP