Asian stocks close mostly down
HONG KONG, May 20: Asian stocks closed mostly down on Tuesday as the Chinese market tumbled nearly 4.5 per cent following an earthquake warning and Taiwan slid almost 2.5 per cent after its new president took office.
The Shanghai bourse slumped after warnings of further aftershocks in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake in China hit market sentiment.
The government website of worst-hit Sichuan province warned of a strong aftershock between 6.0 to 7.0 magnitude on Monday or Tuesday, sending tens of thousands of people running for cover.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s stock market fell 2.43 per cent after Ma Ying-jeou took the oath of office.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.77 per cent, dealers said.The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged as widely expected.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 109.52 points to end at 14,160.09.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares lost 4.41 points or 0.31 per cent to 1,399.84.
Volume rose to 2.42 billion shares, up from 2.23 billion shares on Monday.
The market paused for breath as technical data showed signs that the market is overheated, Investrust technical analyst Hiroyuki Fukunaga said.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 2.23 per cent, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed down 572.77 points at 25,169.46. Turnover was 82.80 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.62 billion US dollars).
As a result of the damage on agriculture, inflation may go up and may trigger more tightening measures.”China Life fell 2.3 per cent to $32.50. Industrial Commercial Bank of China slid 3.1 per cent to 6.85 dollars.
Air China was up 0.72 per cent at 5.6 and China Eastern Airlines was up 1.73 per cent at 3.53. But Cathay Pacific lost 2.6 per cent at 15.76.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.7 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 41.3 points at 5,908.1, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 40.1 points or 0.7 per cent to 5,994.9.
Market volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 5.2 billion dollars (5.0 billion US).
Australia’s largest investment bank, Macquarie Group, plunged 7.3 per cent to 7.34 after announcing a 1.8-billion-dollar annual net profit but warning market volatility meant it would be “challenging” to repeat the feat next year.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.28 per cent lower, dealers said.
The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 41.61 points to 3,199.88 on volume of 1.94 billion shares worth 2.11 billion Singapore dollars (1.54 billion US).
If PPI (producer price index) continues to climb, there may be upside risk to the consumer price index in the coming months, said CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices slipped 1.0 per cent, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 13.24 points to 1,287.43.
British American Tobacco fell 2.3 per cent to 42.50 ringgit. Sime Darby lost 0.5 per cent at 9.65 ringgit. Tenaga ended down 1.4 per cent at 6.85 ringgit.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.32 per cent lower, dealers said.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 11.75 points to 3,647.19.
Fletcher Building closed down 25 cents at 8.25 dollars after a disappointing profit forecast.
Telecom rose one cent to 3.95 dollars and Contact Energy gained 15 cents to 9.00.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell 1.17 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex fell 204.76 points to 17,230.18.
Weak global sentiment and rising oil prices pushed the markets down. We expect further weakness ahead, said a dealer with broker Jamnadas Morarjee.---AFP