HONG KONG, May 25: Asian stocks continued to consolidate on Friday with most benchmarks closing lower as investors fret over whether or not China will face a major correction.
Speculation and warnings over booming Chinese equities have dominated trade in recent days with many fearing mainland markets have gone too far too fast and a steep sell-off is sure to follow, which could impact across the world.
However, on the day Shanghai again ignored the pessimists and closed up 0.69 per cent at a record high although the rest of the region remained unconvinced with Tokyo slumping 1.22 per cent and Hong Kong shedding 1.34 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed down 1.22 per cent, hit by overnight losses on Wall Street and continued nervousness about the outlook for Chinese stocks.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 215.76 points to 17,481.21. Volume was 1.897 billion shares after 1.895 billion on Thursday.
Tokyo shares declined (due to) falls on US stock markets overnight, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.34 per cent lower as investors faced the double impact of fears of a market bubble forming in China and fading hopes for an early reduction in interest rates in the US.
But market jitters grew worse as investors also feared the possibility of an impending correction in China markets after former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that a bubble is forming there, they added.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 0.42 per cent after an overnight fall in metal prices combined with profit taking to push the market further off record highs.
Dealers said recent comments from former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan regarding a possible “dramatic correction” in Chinese stocks had added further to negative sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 26.3 points to 6,252.8 while the broader All Ordinaries lost 25.3 points to 6,273.3.
Turnover was 2.01 billion shares worth 9.70 billion dollars (8.0 billion US), with falls outnumbering rises 728 to 340 and 545 stocks closing unchanged.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.24 per cent lower as investors took profits amid falls across the region over fears of a market bubble forming in China.
The Straits Times Index closed down 43.63 points at 3,486,63 on volume of 2.68 billion shares worth 1.95 billion dollars (1.28 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed down 0.14 per cent, little changed after strong bargain-hunting in late trade of select blue-chips and large-cap stocks offset earlier losses.
The composite index closed down 1.90 points at 1,339.08. Volume traded was 951.70 million shares worth 1.92 billion ringgit (566.4 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed down 0.65 per cent, following the lead of overseas markets.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 27.98 points to 4,305.25 on turnover worth 185.0 million dollars (134.2 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices rose 0.85 per cent, snapping two days of losses in a late afternoon recovery on buying in software stocks.
Dealers said buying interest extended to mid and small-cap stocks, which suggested a positive trend for the markets next week.
The 30-share Sensex rose 120.34 points to 14,338.45.
The markets are poised for a new record in the coming days, with buying momentum back, said Hiten Mehta, a fund manager with Fortune Financial Services.—AFP
