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HONG KONG, March 18: World markets were on tenterhooks on Tuesday ahead of a key US interest rate decision, with investors expecting bold action by the Federal Reserve to try to ease the credit crisis rocking Wall Street.
But there were fears that even a hefty interest rate cut of up to one per centage point later in the day might not be enough to ease gridlock in the US financial system and ward off the spectre of a US recession.
Adding to the nervous mood, Chinese share prices closed down almost 4.0 per cent after Premier Wen Jiabao said taming inflation remained a top priority, suggesting that more monetary tightening measures could be on the way.
Elsewhere in Asia most markets managed to stage modest rebounds after the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended slightly higher overnight in New York at the end of a rollercoaster day. Gold and oil prices were lower.
Tokyo closed up 1.5 per cent as bargain hunters emerged a day after the index plunged 3.7 per cent to a 31-month low. Seoul rebounded 0.9 per cent, and Sydney and Kuala Lumpur ended almost steady.
Investors fear that the Fed may be running out of ammunition to ease market turmoil that brought Wall Street bank Bear Stearns to its knees.
The near collapse of Wall Street bank Bear Stearns, being sold to JP Morgan Chase for a rock-bottom price, has sent shivers through global markets.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices snapped a three-day losing streak as bargain hunters emerged after the market’s plunge to 31-month lows, encouraged by a steadier dollar.
The Nikkei-225 index gained 176.65 points or 1.50 per cent. Turnover fell to 2.27 billion shares from 2.45 billion shares on Monday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed higher as property rebounded on hopes the US Federal Reserve will aggressively cut interest rates to help the ailing US economy.
The Hang Seng index closed up 300 points at 21,384.61. Turnover was 114.18 billion Hong Kong dollars (14.6 billion US dollars).
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed little changed as losses in resources and gains in the finance sector saw the market swing between positive and negative territory.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.9 points at 5,086.1 on volume of 1.3 billion shares worth $6.0 billion (5.55 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.46 per cent higher ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting in which it is widely expected to further cut interest rates.
The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 40.83 points to 2,833.58 on volume of 1.60 billion shares worth 1.71 billion Singapore dollars (1.25 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.2 per cent higher as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting later in the day.
The composite index was up 2.49 points at 1,180.02 on volume of 700.86 million shares worth 1.48 billion ringgit (467 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.2 per cent higher after volatile trade ahead of an anticipated US Federal Reserve decision on interest rates later in the day. The composite index closed up 27.47 points at 2,339.80. Volume was 3.77 billion shares worth 5.88 trillion rupiah (635.04 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.30 per cent, with losses limited by gains in Telecom as investors caught their breath after two sessions of sharp declines.
The NZX-50 gross index dropped 10.80 points to close at 3,418.63 on light turnover worth 66.3 million dollars (53.2 million US).—AFP
