Wednesday 17 August, 10:00 AM BST (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
mostly lower, as overnight losses on Wall Street encouraged investors to take
profits. Japan came off its early highs and ended lower, while Hong Kong was
slightly higher after a late rally. Meanwhile in Korea, the market was weaker
but closed off its intraday lows and in Taiwan, the market ended flat.
Finally, in Australia the market slipped, as investors took profits.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index dropped by 42.55 points or 0.35% to 12,273.12,
but Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index inched up by 5.96 points or 0.04% to
15,449.58. Korea's Kospi Index fell by 3.68 points or 0.33% to 1113.25, while
Taiwan's Weighted Index was barely lower, by 0.48 points or 0.01% to 6241.92.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index was down by 16.40 points or 0.37% to 4429.90.
The Japanese equity market came off its intraday highs and ended the day
slightly lower, although the downside was limited due to hopes that the
economy is improving. Recently, both the government and the Bank of Japan have
issued upbeat statements on the economy. Technology stocks were mostly lower,
while car manufacturers had a mixed day. There were some gains among retail
stocks and in the banking sector.
Technology plays mostly ended the day lower, with Advantest, Hitachi and
Toshiba lower, but on a stronger note, Tokyo Electron ended slightly higher
and Fujitsu rose. Elsewhere, retail stocks were mixed, with Seiyu surging
ahead after a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun indicated the company would
open stores operating under the Wal-Mart brand next year. Car manufacturers
were mixed, with Honda and Nissan slightly lower, while Toyota gained.
On a stronger note, Hong Kong's market ended slightly higher as a late
rally hauled the key share index off its intraday lows. The market came under
early pressure from profit taking after Wall Street's overnight falls, but
buying interest returned in the afternoon session, with the properties sector
posting solid gains at the day's close, with Henderson land and Sun Hung Kai
Properties gaining.
Meanwhile, Korea's market declined, dragged down by overnight weakness on
Wall Street, but the share index closed way above its intraday low. There was
some weakness in the technology sector, with Hynix Semiconductor lower, while
flat panel makers Samsung SDI and LG Philips LCD declined, but heavyweight
Samsung Electronics was unchanged. On a stronger note, there was some strength
in the banking sector after ratings agency Moody's said it expected the upward
pressure on domestic bank ratings to continue.
Taiwan's market was flat in cautious trade ahead of the settlement of
derivative contracts, with the downside from Wall Street's overnight losses
balanced by gains in the technology sector. Memory chipmaker Winbond
Electronics climbed, while Powerchip Semiconductor also ended the day higher.
On a weaker note, heavyweight chipmakers TSMC and UMC both ended lower.
Finally, the Australian market slipped as investors took profits after the
key share index recently hit record highs, although the scale of the losses
was not on par with the decline on Wall Street. Resources majors BHP Billiton
and Rio Tinto dropped, while oil stocks such as Oil Search and Santos declined
and Woodside Petroleum fell heavily. On a stronger note, banking stocks were
mostly higher, while insurance group QBE gained after its half-year net profit
rose by 43% to 491 million Australian dollars.
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
reports. For more information about Thomson Financial visit us on-line at
http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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