0
HONG KONG, Oct 19: Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday amid heightening expectations the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates following a leap in US wholesale inflation figures, dealers said.
They said falls were sharp and across the boards with the regional mood even more pessimistic than Wall Street which had also closed lower.
Adding to the miserable performance were lower-than-expected profit results from Intel, which were announced after Wall Street closed but just before Asian markets with a high exposure to the IT sector opened for trade.
This built on already pent-up selling pressure and resulted in Singapore diving 2.89 per cent, Seoul plunging 2.79 per cent, Taipei falling 2.34 per cent, Mumbai down 1.86 per cent and Tokyo dropping 1.67 per cent.
Other markets were not far behind.
Only Manila bucked the trend, rising slightly, after the Supreme Court ended months of uncertainty and upheld a key tax reform measure that the government says is needed to control a chronic budget deficit.
TOKYO: Share prices took a tumble of 1.67 per cent as dealers reacted nervously to losses on Wall Street where a jump in US wholesale prices sparked fresh inflation worries.
“Investor sentiment here is subdued as US stocks were sluggish,” said Mitsushige Akino, a chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
The Nikkei-225 index lost 222.75 points to 13,129.49 on volume of 3.05 billion shares.
High-tech companies suffered in the wake of the Intel result. Advantest, the world’s largest maker of semiconductor testers, closed down 280 yen at 8,570, Tokyo Electron shed 150 yen to 5,800 and Kyocera declined 140 yen to 7,320.
HONG KONG: Share prices slumped, shedding 1.54 per cent on Wall Street’s losses overnight and amid growing fears over a sharp rise in inflation in the United States.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 224.64 points at 14,372.76 on turnover of US$2.48 billion.
Property stocks were down with Sun Hung Kai Properties off 1.15 at 73.95 and Cheung Kong down 0.55 at 81.55.
SYDNEY: Share prices slumped 1.84 per cent as Wall Street’s negative lead and fears about US inflation further spooked an already jittery market.
The SP/ASX 200 closed down 82.1 points at 4,377.2. Volume was 1.11 billion shares worth US$2.84 billion.
BHP Billiton dropped 70 cents to 20.05 dollars and Rio Tinto fell 1.71 dollars to 56.19 after a third quarter production report showed most divisions operating at or near capacity.
SINGAPORE: Share prices tumbled, falling 2.89 per cent to hit a four-month low in the wake of Wall Street’s overnight losses on fears the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at a faster pace than expected.
The Straits Times Index lost 66.03 points to 2,218.13. Volume totalled 1.3 billion shares worth 1.4 billion Singapore dollars (830 million US).
Contract chip maker Chartered Semiconductor dropped 4.5 cents to 95 cents, UTAC eased 3.5 cents to 58.5 cents and STATS ChipPAC was off six cents at 90 cents.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.92 per cent lower on speculation the government may announce measures to tighten credit and as regional markets faltered on concerns over the prospectof generally higher interest rates.
The Composite Index shed 8.47 points to 914.17 and volume was 511.02 million shares worth 865.66 million ringgit (299.37 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.82 per cent lower, in line with weaker regional markets on concerns the US Federal Reserve may turn more aggressive on raising interest rates, which would add to the pressure on local rates.
The Composite index lost 19.961 points at 1,075.912 on volume of 1.69 billion shares worth 1.24 trillion rupiah ($122.53 million).
WELLINGTON: Share prices slumped 1.37 per cent, in line with weaker regional markets as a sharp jump in US wholesale inflation sparked concerns US interest rates will continue higher.
The NZSX-50 index fell 45.37 points to 3,301.48 — a three month low — on turnover of 102 million dollars (70.8 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices fell sharply in line with regional falls, slumping 1.86 per cent, after the spectre of rising US interest rates overwhelmed investors.
The Sensex index tumbled 151.19 points to 7,971.06.—AFP
