HONG KONG, March 20: Asian stocks closed mainly lower on Thursday but most benchmarks staged at least a partial recovery in late trade after bargain hunters sought to capitalise on another sharp sell-off.
Stocks plummetted from the opening bell as Shanghai led the tumble, losing a dramatic 6.12 per cent in the wake of sharp falls on Wall Street, while miners in Australia and elsewhere fell on falling oil and gold prices.
Wall Street took a beating Wednesday as jitters resurfaced over the financial sector a day after a hefty rate cut by the Federal Reserve aimed at boosting market confidence.
Investors in Asia followed New York but in afternoon trade sentiment improved amid some positioning ahead of the Easter break and Sydney was off 3.1 per cent, Hong Kong slumped 3.47 per cent and Wellington fell 1.20 per cent.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed sharply lower led by property and commodity counters, with investors cautious following a pullback on Wall Street.
Dealers said investors were also positioning ahead of a four-day Easter break while property stocks fell after local banks opted for lower rate cuts than the US Federal Reserve and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Commodity stocks tumbled as oil and metals prices slid amid fears of a global economic slowdown. China banks were down on fears mainland authorities may announce more monetary tightening measures.
The Hang Seng index closed down 758.72 points at 21,108.22 on turnover of 83.33 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.71 billion US dollars).
Caution ahead of a long weekend and speculative investors who decided to lock in profit from recent spikes in commodity counters dragged down our market, said Howard Gorges, vice chairman at South China Securities.
Worries that demand for commodities will soon taper off in the face of a global economic slowdown must have prompted investors to take some money off the table, he said.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices slumped 3.1 per cent as the resources sector dragged down the market following heavy falls in commodity prices.
Dealers said the sell off followed steep falls in oil and gold prices and lower base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange overnight, as investors dumped commodities because of the recovery of the US dollar.
Gold suffered its biggest one-day drop in nearly two years and oil posted its worst slide in seven months.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed the final trading session before a four-day Easter holiday down 161.6 points at the day’s low of 5,127.5. Volume was 2.4 billion shares worth 13.9 billion dollars (12.9 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 1.13 per cent higher led by banks and property developers following a technical rebound after heavy losses in morning trade.
Dealers said stocks started lower following a 2.36 per cent drop on Wall Street overnight shrugging off the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut.
At one point share prices were down over six per cent with the benchmark at 3,516.33. But investors soon picked up oversold banks and other large caps in the afternoon, pushing up the index.
The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 42.45 points at 3,804.05 on turnover of 106.24 billion yuan (14.96 billion US dollars).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.29 perc ent lower after Wall Street’s overnight sharp falls prompted investors to continue taking profits ahead of a long weekend.
The Straits Times Index fell 8.30 points to 2,824.91 on volume of 1.50 billion shares worth 1.66 billion Singapore dollars (1.21 billion US).
The market is still nervous about the US economy, said Loh Hoon Sun, managing director at Phillip Securities. It looks like there’s more downside to go.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 1.20 per cent as global markets followed Wall Street down.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 41.55 points to 3,425.71 on turnover worth 166.4 million dollars (133.3 million US).
Market leader Telecom fell 10 cents to 3.82 dollars on huge turnover of 125.6 million dollars, three quarters of total market turnover.—AFP
