Tuesday 27 September, 10:00 AM BST (Thomson Financial): Asian markets
ended the day mixed as investors took profits following recent gains. Japan's
market fell back on profit taking and concerns about overheating, while Hong
Kong's market was also subject to profit taking as it dropped back. Meanwhile,
the Korean market ended slightly up to reach a new record high on
institutional buying, while Taiwan's market gained marginally. Finally, the
market in Australia reached another record high as investors' appetite for
resources stocks continued.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index fell by 82.59 points or 0.62% to 13,310.04, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index slipped by 84.43 points or 0.55% to
15,189.88. Korea's Kospi Index inched up by 3.22 points or 0.27% to 1209.63,
while Taiwan's Weighted Index gained 14.85 points or 0.25% to 5945.05.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index edged up by 11.40 points or 0.25% to 4576.70.
Japan's market dropped back from recent gains on caution about overheating
and profit taking, with car makers coming under pressure, along with chip
related companies. In contrast, steel makers extended their gains and large
trading houses also advanced.
Car manufacturers fell back from Monday's gains as Toyota, Nissan and
Honda all finished lower, as chip makers declined, with Fujitsu, NEC
Electronics and Elpida Memory all dropping. On a more positive note, steel
makers Nippon Steel, Sumitomo Metal Industries and Kobe steel all surged,
while trading houses such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Tomen all rose.
Sony, which has fallen recently following the announcement of a
restructuring plan and ratings agency Moody's placing it on review for a
possible downgrade, was up after ratings agency Fitch affirmed their unsecured
foreign currency rating at "A-" and short term rating at "F2". However, Fitch
said that the restructuring plan did not go far enough in addressing Sony's
core problem of how to strengthen its electronics division.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares ended the day down as investors took
profits in property stocks after the government land auction got under way.
The land auction ended about 15 minutes after the market close, with all three
sites achieving higher prices than the market expected. Cheung Kong Holdings,
Hand Lung Property and Sun Hung Kai Properties all closed lower.
In Korea, the key share index closed slightly up, to another record high
as institutional buying offset profit taking from foreign investors. Hynix
Semiconductor was a gainer, buoyed by the prospect of tight supply of flash
memory chips, but Samsung Electronics fell back. Other stocks in focus were
Korea Exchange Bank and Woori Financial which both rose, while Kookmin Bank
was flat.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market ended marginally up as concerns about local
currency weakness and the previous day's sell off by foreign investors were
offset by Wall Street gains overnight. AU Optronics closed higher on news that
it had secured an order from Sony for TFT LCD panels, while TSMC and Chi Mei
Optoelectronic also closed higher.
Finally, the Australian market finished at another record high as
investors extended buying optimism. Resources majors BHP Billiton and Rio
Tinto both gained to post record closing prices, while Macquarie Bank surged
as a number of analysts lifted their price targets following the company's
earnings upgrade. The banking sector as a whole was up, with other stocks
performing well including National Australia Bank and ANZ.
Ian.Littlewood@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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