Tuesday 15 November, 10:00 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
the day lower, as profit taking weighed on regional bourses. The Japanese
market slipped, as recent gains encouraged a sell-off, while Hong Kong's
market ended barely lower. Meanwhile, the Korean market eased slightly after
hitting record highs on Monday and Taiwan's market fell due to profit taking
and concerns over bird flu. Finally, the Australian market weakened slightly,
with resources majors and telecom group Telstra weighing on the index.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index weakened by 24.27 points or 0.17% to 14,091.77,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index was barely lower, losing only 2.08
points or 0.01% to 14,627.41. Korea's Kospi Index was down by 3.77 points or
0.30% to 1253.86, while Taiwan's Weighted Index declined by 52.88 points or
0.87% to 6030.74. Australia's All Ordinaries Index slipped by 2.90 points or
0.06% to 4544.90.
The Japanese market ended the day slightly lower, as recent gains
encouraged investors to lock in profits, with contactors, real estate firms
and banks weakening. There was some weakness among construction firms, with
Kajima, Shimizu and Taisei all declining ahead of the release of their half-
year results later in the week. Meanwhile, real estate firms were also under
pressure, with Mitsubishi Estate among sector stocks ending lower.
Banks also succumbed to profit taking, with Resona Holdings and the Mizuho
Financial group weaker. Elsewhere, car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors tumbled
for the second day running, still hurt by news that a leading investment bank
had sold off a large stake in the firm a matter of days after buying it. On a
stronger note, other automakers had a positive session, with Nissan, Honda and
Toyota all ending the day in positive territory.
Hong Kong's market was effectively flat after drawing support from Cheung
Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, which both ended slightly higher,
recovering from Monday's losses. Elsewhere, the properties sector was
negative, with Henderson Land and Sun Hung Kai Properties among sector stocks
ending the day lower, while the financial sector was also weaker, with
heavyweight HSBC Holdings lower.
The Korean market came off its intraday lows but still ended weaker, as
investors elected to take profits after the market hit a record high on
Monday. Heavyweight technology group Samsung Electronics weakened, as did
Samsung SDI and LG Philips LCD, but Hynix Semiconductor rose on a report that
the company would supply memory chips to U.S. group Apple Computer. Banks were
mostly weaker, with Kookmin Bank and Korea Exchange Bank lower.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market also declined, weighed down by profit taking
following recent gains, while concerns over bird flu resurfaced after a strain
of the disease was found in a migratory bird. Heavyweight chipmaker UMC
weakened, although rival TSMC was unchanged, while elsewhere AU Optronics -
which unveiled some changes to its corporate structure - also declined. Nanya
Technology -which denied being in talks to acquire German group Infineon's
memory chip unit- also ended lower.
Finally, the Australian market ended slightly lower as gains in the
banking sector and by oil groups were offset by weak resources majors, while
both Telstra and Macquarie Bank also fell. Banking stocks were mostly higher,
but Macquarie Bank dropped; although the company posted a first half net
operating profit of 482 million Australian dollars compared to 256 million
dollars last year, it was more cautious over its second half performance.
Meanwhile, Telstra fell heavily after publishing its strategic review. The
telecom group warned that full-year earnings before interest and tax might
fall by up to 30% as it invests some 10 billion dollars over the next five
years in order to introduce a next generation network and replace its mobile
infrastructure, while laying off some 10,000 employees. At the same time,
resources heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both declined, but on a
stronger note, oil groups were positive.
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
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http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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