HONG KONG, Oct 13: Asian stocks closed weaker on Thursday amid on-going fears surrounding inflation and another possible rise in US interest rates, but a late technical rebound took the markets of their lows, dealers said.
They said the turnaround was nonetheless cautious following another poor performance by Wall Street overnight, and investors were now sidelined ahead of the release of US inflation data, due out Friday.
Higher oil prices and a weakening outlook for the IT industry also weighed on sentiment resulting in Mumbai, Seoul, Jakarta and Wellington suffering the biggest falls of the day.
TOKYO: Share prices staged a late rebound to close little changed, struggling to shake off a weak performance on Wall Street where prospects of rising interest rates unsettled investors.
“Share prices declined as investors continued to cash in gains given the bearish (negative) tone on the New York market,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior strategist at Shinko Securities.
The Nikkei-225 index lost 14.50 points or 0.11 per cent to 13,449.24 but was off a low of 13,266.98 on turnover of 2.30 billion shares.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.32 per cent higher, recovering from early losses on interest in selected blue chips after sharp falls Wednesday.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 46.81 points at 14,621.83. Turnover was 16.25 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.1 billion US).
Among blue chips which posted gains, Hutchison Whampoa was up 0.70 at 76.00, China Mobile up 0.40 at 34.50, HSBC up 0.20 at 122.30, Hong Kong and China Gas up 0.05 at 15.95 and Swire Pacific up 0.20 at 70.20.
SYDNEY: Share prices fell 0.83 per cent as the market followed Wall Street’s lead and continued to retreat from record highs set late last month.
The SP/ASX 200 closed down 37.2 points at 4,431.0. Turnover was 1.31 billion shares worth 3.85 billion dollars (2.89 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed little changed as profit-taking in selected blue chips offset gains in technology and banking stocks.
He sees the market resistance at 2,350-2,360 points and support at 2,310.
The Straits Times Index edged 0.17 points higher to 2,320.70. Volume 1.05 billion shares worth 903 million Singapore dollars (534 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.15 per cent lower after further falls on Wall Street overnight sparked a broad retreat in regional markets.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 1.37 points to 927.12. Volume was 347.42 million shares, worth 477.99 million ringgit (127 million dollar).
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.10 ringgit at 10.80, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.10 to 10.10, while Maybank was flat at 11.50.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.13 per cent lower, led by banks such as Bank Central Asia on concerns that rising interest rates will hurt earnings.
The composite index closed down 12.445 points at 1,090.535 on volume of 1.13 billion shares worth 862.14 billion rupiah (81.40 million dollars.)
WELLINGTON: Share prices dived 1.61 per cent as leading stocks tumbled in a “shakedown” following recent gains.
The NZSX-50 index fell 55.03 points to 3,362.96 on turnover of 87.4 million dollars (60.7 million US). Contact Energy, which Wednesday warned earnings were under pressure, plunged 26 cents or 3.6 per cent to 7.02 dollars.
MUMBAI: Share prices tumbled 1.92 per cent in line with regional falls after Wall Street again registered another poor performance amid rising oil prices, higher inflation and the prospect of further hikes in interest rates.
The Sensex index closed 163.66 points lower at 8,376.90.—AFP