Asia-Pacific stocks suffer as currency markets crumble
Asia-Pacific stocks suffer as currency markets crumble
HONG KONG (AFP): Stock markets across Asia-Pacific bore the brunt of the worsening currency crisis which saw new record lows for the Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and the Philippine peso.
Malaysia, Singapore and Jakarta saw their stocks suffer as their currencies fell. Kuala Lumpur's stocks ended 2.3 percent down, with investors reacting to more suggestions from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that foreign exchange trading should be regulated.
"There is no support coming in for the market. Players are jittery as they do not know where the ringgit is heading," said Victor Wan, an analyst with South Johor Securities said in Kuala Lumpur.
Singapore's blue-chip stocks ended 0.7 percent lower, as even the robust Singapore dollar was hit by speculation.
"The market opened steady, but in light of this currency turmoil everybody chose to go to the sidelines and the momentum dissipated," said Chandra Mahawar, a dealer with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, in Singapore.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei stock average of 225 selected issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 45.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to finish at 17,842.16, while the broader Topix index of all first section issues dipped 0.13 points to 1,388.45.
In Hong Kong, financial markets were closed for a national holiday.
In Singapore, blue-chip stocks ended 0.7 percent lower as sentiment was dampened by a sharp depreciation of neighboring Malaysia's currency and shares, dealers said.
The blue-chip benchmark Straits Times Industrials index fell 12.94 points to 1941.74, while the broader All-Singapore index fell 7.72 points to 471.43.
In Sydney, the main indicator, the all ordinaries index, rose 12.3 points to 2,779.2.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian stocks took a beating as the local currency crashed to new lows following fresh suggestions from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to regulate foreign exchange trading.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite index fell through the 800-point psychological level to close 18.74 points or 2.3 percent lower at 795.83.
In Bangkok, Thai share prices rose 0.6 percent on speculation in banking shares following reports that major banks would not suffer as previously expected under upcoming financial reforms, analysts said.
The composite Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index was up 3.26 points at 547.80, while the selected SET 50 index gained 0.37 points to finish at 41.43 points.
In Jakarta, share prices fell 1.8 percent on the back of weakness in the rupiah and regional currencies, and amid concerns about inflation, dealers said.
The composite index closed down 9.710 points at 536.986.
In Manila, the Philippine share prices rose 0.5 percent due to short-term buying despite the fall in the peso.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 10.23 points to close at 2,067.62.
In Seoul, the composite index closed down 2.19 points at 644.92.
In Shanghai, financial markets were closed for a national holiday.
In Taipei, the Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index slid 13.81 points to 8,695. 02.
In Auckland, the NZSE-40 was up 18.01 points to 2575.09 on turnover of NZ$61.7 million (US$39.6 million).
In London, the FT-SE 100 index of leading shares rose by 15.3 points to 5,259.5 points.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index opened 9.14 points lower at 2,99.12 in the wake of overnight losses on Wall Street.
In Frankfurt, the DAX-30 index fell by 11. 88 points to 4,155.97 points