Asian markets bearish, Manila defies trend
Asian markets bearish, Manila defies trend
HONG KONG (Reuter): Asian stock markets turned bearish
yesterday as Tokyo failed to attract buyers for a second day
while a political scandal continued to drag down the Seoul
market, brokers said.
Manila separated itself from the list of losers, chalking up
gains for a second day on market heavyweight Philippine Long
Distance Telephone's (PLDT) 41 percent rise in net profit for the
first nine months of this year.
In Tokyo, stocks ended down. Indices were depressed by
technical selling while institutional investors continued to keep
away, finding few incentives to leave the crowded sidelines.
The Nikkei average ended down 157.93 points or 0.88 percent at
17,863.29, staying below 18,000 all day.
In Hong Kong, stocks ended sharply lower on poor corporate
news for major counters such as New World Development, brokers
said.
The blue chip Hang Seng Index fell 169.96 points or 1.75
percent to 9,562.45.
In Singapore, last minute buying of Keppel Corp and Fraser &
Neave pushed the Straits Times Industrials Index (STII) up
through the 2,100-mark at the close but dealers said the move was
unlikely to herald a significant new rally.
The 30-share STII closed up 11.88 points at 2,101.48 on 152.69
million shares worth Singapore $267.97 million (US$189.9
million). Gainers outnumbered losers by 151 to 139.
In Kuala Lumpur, share prices closed lower led by selling in
bank stocks amid worries about the impact of rising interest
rates on earnings, dealers said.
The key Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index ended down
5.16 points at 913.43, on volume of 96.0 million shares.
In Bangkok, the Thai bourse closed 1.5 percent lower amid
heavy selling of blue-chip stocks, brokers said.
The SET index declined 18.49 points to 1,222.75 on thin
turnover of 3.3 billion baht.
In Manila, shares ended higher at the close, with the index
touching its resistance of 2,500 in early trade as investors
welcomed the hefty profit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone
Co, brokers said. The index gained 15.07 points to 2,484.94,
In Seoul, the index lost 6.88 points to 980.84 after hitting a
day's high of 990.67. Losers led gainers by 671 to 184.
In Taipei, the index lost 51.49 points or 1.07 percent to end
at 4,773.70.
In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index was 0.9 points higher at
2110.70. The December share index contract was one point higher
at 2122, an 11.3 point premium to the underlying index.
The Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100 leading
British shares had risen 8.6 points to 3,531.
In Paris, the CAC-40 share index gained 10.47 to 1,867.82.
The 30-share DAX in Frankfurt was up 2.33 at 2,177.30.