HONG KONG, Dec 16: Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday with a lack of direction from Wall Street and another fall in Tokyo dampening sentiment after an appreciating yen eroded the value of Japanese exporters.
Dealers said gains were also capped amid traditional low volumes and window dressing ahead of year-end position squaring. As a result Sydney and Shanghai each registered a modest improvement.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.53 per cent lower, shedding earlier gains, as a firmer yen led to a further dumping of exporter shares.
Dealers said the market closely watched the currency market and was heartened when the dollar pulled up from early lows against the yen. Exporters favor a strong dollar as their earnings are in the US currency.
Among general trading companies, Itochu was off 24 yen at 983, with Tomen down 4 yen at 182 and Sumitomo sliding 24 yen to 1,496.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed little changed, down 0.19 per cent on caution ahead of the weekend and following Wall Street’s lackluster performance overnight.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.35 per cent higher, led by the banks after struggling to find direction during most of the day.
Macquarie Bank fell 0.60 to 67.30 after launching a bid for London Stock Exchange overnight.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed down 0.01 per cent on thin volumes in the absence of solid trading leads and a faltering Wall Street, with slight profit-taking in ST Engineering, dealers said.
Singapore Airlines gained 0.10 at 11.80 as its overall load factor rose to 69 per cent in November from 68.7 per cent the year before, although the data drew mixed reviews from analysts.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent lower in a market that was bereft of fresh leads, which included an uninspiring performance by Wall Street overnight.
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional was down 0.05 ringgit at 9.70, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.20 to 9.45, while Malayan Banking gained 0.10 to 11.40.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.08 per cent lower for a third straight day on continued profit-taking and as the rupiah’s retreat against the dollar hurt sentiment in blue-chips.
The composite index closed down 12.538 points at 1,143.426 on volume of 834.01 million shares valued at 870.16 billion rupiah (88.7 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices jumped 1.44 per cent higher following strong gains by market leader Telecom and exporters seen benefitting from a weaker local currency.
The NZSX-50 gross index rose 47.23 points to 3,281.90 on turnover of 138 million dollars (95.8 million US).
Exporter Fisher and Paykel Appliances closed up 15 cents at 3.47 dollars, while Fisher and Paykel Healthcare added 12 cents to 3.68.
MUMBAI: Share prices surged 1.24 per cent to close at a new record high on across-the-board foreign and domestic fund buying amid sustained expectations of strong economic growth.
