HONG KONG, Oct 3: Asian stocks closed narrowly mixed in subdued Trade on Monday, with Saturday’s bomb attacks in Bali adding a note of caution after last week’s very strong performance, dealers said.
They said the Bali bombings were an unwelcome reminder of the terrorist threat in the region but most expect tourism and the wider Indonesian economy to recover in due course as they did after the much deadlier 2002 attacks.
On the day, Jakarta stocks opened sharply lower but then recovered to finish with an unexpected gain of 0.38 per cent despite the Bali lead and the government’s doubling of fuel prices.
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur seemed little affected, despite some of their companies have major interests in Indonesia, with investors fairly confident in the government there as it takes the hard decisions on the economy.
Tokyo lost 0.36 per cent after the much awaited Bank of Japan Tankan survey of business sentiment fell short of high expectations, disappointing some even as most analysts said there was no reason for immediate concern.
TOKYO: Share prices eased back from four-year highs as investors reacted with disappointment to a key survey showing only a modest improvement in Japan’s business sentiment.
Dealers said the disappointment at the Bank of Japan Tankan report was more a reflection of how high expectations have risen in recent weeks rather than real worries that Japan’s economic recovery is faltering.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 49.02 points or 0.36 per cent to 13,525.28 on volume of 3.0 billion shares.
“The Tankan was disappointing as investors had expected a much more upbeat outcome, even if the figures themselves showed that the economy is on a path to expand,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities.
Otsuka said the market tone remained positive.
Construction companies declined, with Obayashi falling 32 yen to 752, Kajima dropping 17 yen to 523 and Shimizu losing 24 yen to 719.
Automakers, which typically benefit from a stronger dollar, extended gains. Toyota added 100 yen to 5,300, Mitsubishi Motors rose 10 yen to 243 and Isuzu Motors put on 38 yen to 456.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower on profit-taking following gains last week, with trading cautious as the Chinese markets remain closed for a week-long holiday.
Dealers said the weekend bombings in the Indonesian resort island of Bali also weighed on sentiment.
“The market was hit by some profit-taking after gains last week,” said Kenny Tang, associate director at Tung Tai Securities.
“Trading focus in the near term would be on the initial public offerings. Investors took profits in China Yurun after its share price rose more than 10 per cent. But people remain optimistic about future IPOs and are awaiting the offering of China Construction Bank this month,” he said.
New World Development was up 0.15 at 10.35 after news that it acquired a 70 per cent stake in a residential property redevelopment project in Hong Kong for 614.6 million dollars.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.03 per cent higher on low volumes and quiet trading because of public holidays in some states, including New South Wales, which meant Sydney-based traders were not active.
Dealers said there was little reaction to the weekend terrorist bombings in Bali as markets have grown immune to such attacks.
They said the market was likely to remain around current levels in the opening days of the final quarter of 2005, having been pushed to record highs last week.
A modest correction was possible in October, a traditionally volatile month, as investors paused to consider earnings prospects, they said.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.16 per cent lower on losses in Indonesia-linked stocks including heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) after the weekend bomb attacks in Bali.
A weekend terror attack on Bali for the second time in three years had investors selling off shares of companies with substantial investment in Indonesia including SingTel, dealers said.
SingTel, which owns 35 per cent of Indonesia’s Telkomsel mobile operator, lost two cents to 2.43.
For other blue chips, Singapore Airlines fell 10 cents to 11.50, Singapore The Straits Times Index fell 3.65 points to 2,301.49. Volume traded totalled 874 million shares worth US$375 million.
Press Holdings was steady at 4.62 and ST Engineering was even at 2.54.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.24 per cent lower, with sentiment hit after brokerage Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded Malaysia’s equity ratings.
Dealers said the weekend bomb attacks in Bali reminded the market of the terrorist threat in the region whilst the 2006 Budget, unveiled Friday, did not specify concrete measures to curb inflation.
Among the blue chips, Tenaga Nasional and Maybank both closed lower, dropping 0.10 ringgit to 10.70 and 11.50, respectively, while Telekom Malaysia rose 0.10 to 10.50.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.38 per cent higher, recovering from heavy early losses after nervous investors sold off following the weekend bomb attacks in Bali.
Triyono said the higher-than-expected fuel price hike was good news in the sense that Indonesia is taking drastic measures to catch up with other countries’ fuel price levels to strengthen the domestic economy.
The composite index closed up 4.139 points at 1,083.414 on volume of 1.08 billion shares worth 1.41 trillion rupiah (136.76 million dollars.)
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.15 per cent higher at record levels despite caution over the final election vote count and the start of a new quarter.
Dealers said investors could be digesting Saturday’s final election count, which confirmed a win for the centre-left Labour Party, and the start of a new quarter.
“Moderate activity has continued to see the market really trend sideways with the focus on mid- to large-caps,” said Nigel Scott, a retail equities adviser for ABN Amro Craigs.
He noted that trading in Australia was lighter due to a state holiday in New South Wales while the weekend Bali bombings appeared to have had little impact.
The NZSX-50 index rose 5.34 points to 3,458.13 on turnover of 116 million dollars (80 million US).
Telecom fell one cent to 6.01 dollars.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices made solid gains with investor support for the key index continuing, dealers said.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 63.17 points, 0.73 per cent, to 8,697.65.—AFP
