Monday 17 October, 10:00 AM BST (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
mixed, as stocks struggled to follow Wall Street's gains on Friday. Japan's
market ended lower, as investors responded negatively to the visit of Prime
Minister Koizumi to a war shrine, while in Hong Kong, the market rose on
strength in selected blue chips. Meanwhile, the Korean bourse fell on foreign
selling, while the market in Taiwan fell heavily on bird flu fears. Finally,
the market in Australia rose in line with Wall Street.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index eased 20.25 points or 0.15% to 13,400.29, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index gained 55.47 points or 0.38% to 14,541.35.
Korea's Kospi Index dropped 13.81 points or 1.16% to 1176.36, while Taiwan's
Weighted Index plummeted 142.80 points or 2.39% to 5826.27. Australia's All
Ordinaries Index rose 18.60 points or 0.43% to 4389.90.
Japan's market was down slightly on profit taking, while the visit of the
Prime Minister to a controversial shrine that honors Japan's war dead,
including war criminals, triggered protests from Asian neighbors and
undermined market sentiment. There was also some caution ahead of the release
of corporate results from a number of major U.S. companies. Sectors in focus
were, banks and steel makers, both down, while automakers gained.
Banking stocks fell as investors took profits on technical indicators,
Mitsui Holdings slipping, with Mitsubishi UFJ Holdings also dropping, while in
the steel sector, Nippon Steel continued its three day slide on earnings
worries, along with Tokyo Steel Manufacturing and JFE Holdings which also lost
weight.
The automobile sector performed somewhat better as Honda rallied, despite
a downgrade from a leading broker, with Mitsubishi Motors rising after
announcing that it will start supplying fuel efficient engines to
DaimlerChrysler for its Smart compact cars next year. Elsewhere, electronics
maker JVC plunged following a profit warning.
Hong Kong's market closed slightly up, led by selected blue chip stocks,
following rises on Wall Street Friday. The property sector rose, Henderson
Land posted a sterling gain, with Cheung Kong Holdings and Wharf Holdings also
rising, while in the banking sector HSBC Holdings closed marginally higher,
along with Hang Seng Bank. Elsewhere, CNOOC gained on the rise in oil prices.
In Korea, the market finished sharply lower as foreign investors continued
their sell off of local stocks and amid negative sentiment due to the strong
U.S. dollar. Financial stocks were hit hard on profit taking following recent
rallies, with Kookmin Bank, Woori and Hana Bank all ending the day down, while
in the electronics sector, LG Philips LCD lost ground. On a brighter note,
Samsung Electronics gained following last week's results and positive
guidance.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market closed at five month lows as concerns over the
spread of bird flu undermined sentiment towards the broad market. In the
technology sector, TSMC lost ground and UMC also slipped, with AU Optronics
also falling. However, on a more positive note, pharmaceutical and related
stocks benefited from the bird flu scare as Standard Chemical & Pharmaceutical
rose, along with Medtecs International.
Finally, the market in Australia rose as investor sentiment rebounded
following the release of low core inflation data in the U.S. and gains on Wall
Street on Friday. Resources and banking stocks led the rises, with Rio Tinto
and BHP Billiton rising, while in the financial sector National Australia
Bank, ANZ and Westpac all rose, however Macquarie Bank continued its recent
falls.
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
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http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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