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TOKYO, Dec 19: Share prices on most Asian stock markets edged higher on Wednesday on the back of Wall Street’s gains.
In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrials rose 106.22 points or 1.1 per cent to 9,998.39 and the Nasdaq gained 17.31 points or 0.9 per cent to 2,004.76.
The Kuala Lumpur market remained closed Wednesday for a public holiday.
In Tokyo, gains were led by banking stocks after a move by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to further ease monetary policy.
The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed 39.76 points or 0.4 per cent higher at 10,471.93.
Minutes before the market’s closing bell, Japan’s central bank announced additional credit-easing measures at the end of a two-day policy-board meeting.
“There was modest buying for some 10 minutes after the BoJ announcement which was left somewhat undigested,” said Daiwa SMBC equity manager Kazunori Jinnai.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices rose 0.7 per cent following gains on Wall Street, with the key Hang Seng index gaining 78.30 points to close at 11,565.23.
But dealers said turnover remained thin as many investors were absent from the market in the run up to the Christmas break next week.
Johnny Mak, an associate director with China Everbright Securities, said the gains simply reflected Wall Street’s performance.
“The market is still lacking in direction as many fund managers have been on holiday ahead of Christmas day. Trade was quiet and boring,” Mak said, adding that trading will remain subdued until after Christmas.
SYDNEY: Australian shares rose marginally as stronger banks, resources and construction giant Lend Lease countered losses elsewhere.
The All Ordinaries index gained 3.3 points to 3,267.7 while the SP/ASX 200 index rose 3.6 points to 3,324.1.
Shaw Stockbroking’s Jamie Spiteri said the market had closed up a fraction, but could not continue Tuesday’s rally of close to one per cent.
“At this time of year, the level of activity’s not sufficient to see that momentum carry through,” he added.
SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks rose 0.7 per cent with gains in selected blue chips prompted by Wall Street’s upbeat performance.
The Straits Times Index gained 11.84 points to 1,595.44 while the broader All-Singapore Equities Index was 3.27 points higher at 421.14.
“The market’s following Wall Street and it’s the blue chips that are taking the lead,” said a dealer at a local brokerage.
Another dealer said the market was surprisingly resilient, despite a lack of institutional interest.
“Most institutional investors are already away on holidays, although there are continuing spurts of buying,” the dealer at a regional brokerage said.
SEOUL: South Korean share prices rose half a per cent with early losses offset by foreign buying of Samsung Electronics and selected major stocks.
The composite index closed up 3.29 points at 647.05.
KGI Securities analyst Hwang Sang-Hyuk said the market would continue to correct after recent gains.
“Despite the rise in the index, the quality of the trading was very bad as was seen in the sharp rise in the number of decliners,” Hwang said, adding the yen’s weakness weighed on exporters, while domestic demand-oriented stocks outperformed the market.
MANILA: Philippine shares rose 0.4 per cent on bargain-hunting as the market ignored the central bank’s decision to keep its key rates unchanged.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index gained 5.01 points to close at 1,129.41.
The central bank’s decision to keep its policy interest rates unchanged as well as a 16.9-per cent plunge in October imports to a three-year high were largely ignored, brokers said.
“I don’t think (the central bank decision) will have an effect on the market because the banks are not lending anyway,” said Joseph Roxas of Eagle Equities Inc.
TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices ended two per cent lower due to further falls in the value of the local currency.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index fell 107.23 points to 5,221.96.
The stock market rose in early trade after gains on Wall Street but profit-taking set in and wiped out early gains amid concerns over extended weakness in the local currency, dealers said.
The Taiwan dollar was at 34.759 against the US dollar at noon, down from Monday’s close of 34.707.
MUMBAI: Stocks closed 2.2 per cent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) amid rising tensions on the Indo-Pakistan border and rumours income tax authorities raided some foreign brokers.
The benchmark 30-share BSE sensitive index shed 73.21 points to close at 3,262.67.
Dealers also said concerns the BSE may see a payments crisis led to a sharp fall in some second-line software stocks that had gained significantly in the last few sessions.
The concerns were based on rumours that some brokers may not be able to pay for their positions in the stocks.
SHANGHAI: China’s Shanghai B-shares closed 1.6 per cent lower as retail players cashed in on recent gains.
The Shanghai B-share index slid 2.81 points to close at 169.62 while the A-share index fell 14.86 points or 0.8 per cent to 1,741.49.
The B-share rally, sparked by the government’s decision Tuesday to invest social security funds in stocks, turned out to be short-lived with all shares retreating due to profit-taking, dealers said.
“Market sentiment was weak at present and few investors were willing to build up heavy positions as the year-end approaches,” said a dealer at a foreign brokerage.—AFP
