Friday 13 January, 10:00 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
mostly higher, although gains were slight after Wall Street dropped overnight.
The Japanese market inched higher, despite lower than expected economic data,
while Hong Kong's market ended higher after a late rally. The Korean bourse
climbed, supported by Samsung Electronics, but on a weaker note, Taiwan ended
lower, with technology heavyweights weakening. Finally, the Australian market
crept higher, with gains in banks and oil stocks balancing losses in the
resources sector.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index crept up by 9.76 points or 0.06% to 16,454.95,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index rose by 68.60 points or 0.44% to
15,787.97. Korea's Kospi Index ended up by 13.70 points or 0.98% to 1416.28,
but Taiwan's Weighted Index fell by 43.26 points or 0.64% to 6682.35.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index inched up by 2.60 points or 0.05% to 4784.30.
The Japanese equity market ended only slightly higher after Wall Street
declined overnight and economic data undershot expectations. Although core
machinery orders rose by 2.3% month-on-month in November, this fell below
market expectations. Car manufacturers were lower, while the steel sector also
came under pressure; however the overall market drew some support from the
construction sector, which ended higher.
Car manufacturers ended lower, with majors Honda, Nissan and Toyota all
ending the day lower, while additional downside pressure came from steel
stocks, with Kobe Steel and Nippon Steel among sector stocks ending lower. On
a stronger note, the construction sector ended solidly higher after
contractors such as Shimizu and Kajima surged.
Elsewhere, technology stocks were mixed, with Matsushita Electric
Industrial and Fujitsu surging, while Canon, Kyocera and TDK also ended
higher. However, Advantest, Hitachi and Nikon were among some of the sector
players ending lower.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's market ended higher after a late market rally. The
properties sector was flat, with Henderson Land and Sun Hung Kai Properties
lower, but with New World Development and Hang Lung Properties higher.
Elsewhere, banking stocks were also mixed, with BOC Hong Kong higher, but HSBC
Holdings unchanged. The market was supported by gains in select blue chips
such as Hutchison Whampoa, while China related stocks were also in favour.
The Korean market outperformed the region and closed at a new record high,
after technology heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained on the back of its
fourth quarter earnings. The company said sales in the quarter ending December
rose by 7% from the previous three months, while net profit was up by 36% to
2.56 trillion won. Moreover, the company forecast an 11% rise in 2006 sales to
63.6 trillion won. Elsewhere, Hynix Semiconductor also rose, but POSCO
weakened after its operating profit dropped by 32.6% to 1.87 trillion won.
On a weaker note, Taiwan's market fell, dragged down by overnight losses
on Wall Street, which encouraged investors to take profits from recent gains.
Heavyweight chipmakers TSMC and UMC both declined, while there was also some
weakness among flat panel makers, with AU Optronics lower, although Chi Mei
Optoelectronics ended slightly higher.
Finally, the Australian market shrugged off its early losses and ended the
session slightly above the flat-line. Resources stocks were mixed, with BHP
Billiton weakening, while Rio Tinto gained, but rising crude prices boosted
oil stocks, with Oil Search and Santos among sector players ending higher.
More support came from banking stocks, which were mostly higher, with ANZ Bank
and Macquarie Bank rising, although Westapc dropped.
Olivier.Masson@thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Asia Market Commentary. The
information herein is believed to be true and accurate. If you have any
questions please e-mail James Sang at James.Sang@tfn.com. We take no
responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our
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http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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