Monday 7 November, 10:00 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
the day lower as profit taking followed last week's gains. The Japanese
market was slightly lower after the share index came off its early lows,
but Hong Kong's market under performed the region as bank rate rises hit
property sales. Meanwhile, the Korean market also weakened ahead of a
central bank meeting later this week, and Taiwan's market dropped, with
technology stocks lower. The Australian market also weakened, dragged down
by resources stocks.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index slipped by 14.36 points or 0.10% to 14,061.60,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index dropped by 220.00 points or 1.51%
to 14,365.79. Korea's Kospi Index fell by 3.51 points or 0.29% to 1218.47,
while Taiwan's Weighted Index weakened by 51.35 points or 0.87% to
5860.39. Australia's All Ordinaries Index ended down by 7.50 points or
0.17% to 4460.80.
The Japanese market came off its intraday lows but still ended slightly
weaker as investors elected to take profits after the key share index hit
four-year highs last Friday. Oil refiners and machinery stocks were lower,
while technology firms were mixed. However on a stronger note, banking
stocks showed some strength.
Oil refiners were mostly weaker, with Nippon Oil, Cosmo Oil and Showa
Shell all sustaining heavy losses, but on a stronger note, oil groups
Inpex and Teikoku both rose strongly after unveiling merger plans over the
weekend. Meanwhile, machinery firms were also under pressure, with Komatsu
and Kubota among sector stocks ending lower, while shipbuilders also
slipped.
Technology firms had a mixed session, with Hitachi, Advantest and Canon
among stocks ending lower, but Sanyo Electric and Toshiba had a stronger
session. On a stronger note, financial stocks edged higher. Banking groups
Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui posted solid gains, while Mitsubishi
UFJ was unchanged.
Meanwhile Hong Kong's market dropped, dragged down by the properties
sector as weekend property sales disappointed after last week's rate rise
by banks. Moreover, additional downside came from concerns over the spread
of bird flu. Among property plays, Cheung Kong Holding, Hang Lung
Properties and Sun Hung Kai Properties all fell heavily, while the
financial sector also weakened, with HSBC Holdings and Hang Seng Bank
weaker.
The Korean market also weakened amid some caution ahead of the central
bank meeting later in the week, although the share index closed off its
intraday lows. Last week's gains led to some profit taking and among
banking stocks, Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Financial both ended lower, while
elsewhere, Hyundai Heavy Industries also fell. On a stronger note,
heavyweight Samsung Electronics ended the day slightly higher.
Meanwhile, Taiwan weakened as last week's gains encouraged some profit
taking. There was some weakness among technology plays, while on a
stronger note, the tourism sector gained. The technology sector came under
pressure, with electronic display makers ending lower, while chipmaker
United Microelectronics fell heavily. On a stronger note, there was some
strength in the tourism sector on hopes of direct flights with mainland
China.
Finally, the Australian market ended with modest losses after coming off
its intraday lows. Resources stocks dragged the share index lower, with
heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto tracking their London-listed
shares lower, while Newcrest Mining also weakened. Banking stocks showed
some resilience, with National Australia Bank, Macquarie Bank and ANZ bank
higher, although Commonwealth bank slipped.
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
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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