TOKYO, Dec 3: Asian share prices were mixed on Monday with the Tokyo and Hong Kong markets lower on worries about the collapse of Enron and the US economy.
Share prices in Tokyo dropped 3.1 per cent on credit risk concerns and fears of a fall on Wall Street after US energy giant Enron filed for bankruptcy over the weekend.
The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 326.82 points to finish at 10,370.62.
The market suffered from the Enron shock, said Kazunori Jinnai, deputy general manager of the equity department at Daiwa SB Capital Markets Co. Ltd. There was not a sector on the exchange that didn’t fall.
On Sunday, Enron announced it had filed for bankruptcy and was bringing a lawsuit against its former merger partner, Dynegy Inc., which walked away from the deal last week. It was the biggest US bankruptcy in history.
The Enron debacle depressed buying sentiment in Tokyo, rekindling fears over credit risk for Japanese banks, said Tatsuo Kurokawa, senior market analyst at Nomura Securities.
Japanese financial firms were exposed to Enron bonds and banks extended loans to Enron. This is hardly good news for investors, Kurokawa said, adding that the market is also nervous because of recent business failures in Japan.
HONG KONG : Share prices dropped 1.1 per cent on renewed concerns over the state of the US economy.
The key Hang Seng lost 124.10 points to close at 11,155.15 on turnover of US$911 million.
The declines come following the downward revision of US third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data for the September quarter to an annualized decline of 1.1 per cent from the previous estimate of a 0.4 per cent fall, dealers said.
SYDNEY: Australian shares fell 0.3 per cent as rising resources stocks failed to counter the impact on the local market of the collapse of US-based energy giant Enron.
The All Ordinaries index fell 8.3 points to 3,268.6 while the SP/ASX 200 index slipped 8.6 points to 3,328.8.
Ausbil Dexia director of equities Paul Xiradis said a banking and economic crisis in Argentina also sapped local enthusiasm.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.1 per cent higher on selected buying of blue chip stocks.
The Straits Times Index (STI) finished 15.74 points higher at 1,494.28 points.
The market is continuing to consolidate, following last week’s gains ahead of the revamp of the MSCI indices, said a dealer at a foreign brokerage.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.8 per cent higher due to gains in selected blue chips.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 5.33 points to finish at 643.35.
Dealers said investors mostly ignored the MSCI reweighting of the local market as this had already been factored in.
The index stocks were up because of window dressing and Telekom Malaysia, but the broader market fell because of profit-taking, a retail dealer said.
MUMBAI: Indian stocks closed down 0.4 per cent tracking a regional market fall triggered by renewed concerns over the US economy.
The benchmark 30-share BSE sensitive index shed 12.09 points or 0.4 per cent to close at 3,275.47.
Global worries were further compounded by the collapse of US energy giant Enron, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed marginally higher on continued buying of automotive stocks and speculative trading in cement shares and in Bank Central Asia.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 0.492 points or 0.1 per cent at 380.800.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell 1.5 per cent due to profit-taking and as several major stocks went ex-dividend.
The benchmark NZSE40 index closed down 31.20 points at 2,041.16 on turnover worth US$48.4 million.
There was a lot of weakness, a lot of red across the board, courtesy of a fairly lacklustre performance (by market leaders).—AFP
TOKYO, Dec 3: Asian share prices were mixed on Monday with the Tokyo and Hong Kong markets lower on worries about the collapse of Enron and the US economy.
