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HONG KONG, Aug 19: Asian stocks closed flat to lower on Friday in subdued trade amid a lack of leads from Wall Street and as oil prices ended a week-long lull and edged higher, dealers said.
The latest pressure on crude followed protests in Ecuador which forced its government to suspend oil exports, thus underscoring market nervousness over supply disruptions.
This was enough to keep investors largely in the sidelines during Asian equities trade and contributing to falls in Taipei, Singapore, Seoul, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
Jakarta suffered a double blow with its currency falling against the dollar to its lowest levels in more than three years. That coupled with widely tipped fuel price hikes has only increased pressure for an interest rate rise.
Only Bangkok bucked the trend and closed sharply higher with local institutions buying-up in the country’s bluechips.
TOKYO: Share prices closed down 0.13 per cent as investors locked in profits amid a lack of fresh incentives to push forward a market rally.
Dealers said the Japanese markets had rallied this week after upbeat assessments of the world’s second largest economy by the government and the central bank, with the Nikkei index hitting a four-year high Tuesday.
In the past days, investors are buying on the same theme, that is, on the positive outlook for the Japanese economy, but after the rise this week, the time to adjust (positions) has come, said Hideyuki Suzuki of SBI Securities.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.72pct lower on extended profit-taking, with selling heaviest in the property sector, amid uncertainty over the market’s direction in the near term.
Dealers said investor sentiment was weighed down by the market’s sharp falls Thursday and Wall Street’s lacklustre performance overnight.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed flat, or 0.16 per cent higher on gains in bellwether stock Singapore Telecommunications and other blue chips.
Dealers said gains in heavyweight stocks were mostly small and sentiment remained subdued because of concerns over oil prices which remained above 60 US dollars a barrel.
“The obvious drag on the market is the current high level of oil, which has stayed above $60 per barrel, and at the current price, is up 4.5pc for the month,” said OCBC Investment research analyst Carmen Lee.—AFP
