Asian markets end mixed, many look for direction

Asian markets end mixed, many look for direction

HONG KONG (Reuter): Asian markets ended mixed in generally quiet trade yesterday, with Hong Kong index remaining above the 10,000-point level but Tokyo and Singapore taking a step back as investors looked for direction.

In Hong Kong, stocks ended slightly stronger as late overseas institutional buying of banks and property firms overrode profit- taking.

The Hang Seng Index gained 23.65 points or 0.24 percent to 10,032.93, shrugging off a 63-point drop earlier in the day.

"Foreign money is flowing into the market although local fundamentals have not changed," said Patrick Chia, research manager at Cheerful Securities.

In Taipei, major institutional investors guided share prices higher by targeting the heavily weighted electronics and financial sectors.

The index shook off a mid-morning malaise, recovering from an intra-day low of 5,028.96 to finish 42.02 points or 0.83 percent higher at 5,081.00.

"Institutional investors know the market reacts to the movements of these two sectors, so some of them made an effort to boost them," said Allen Huang of National Securities.

Share prices also ended higher in Jakarta, Wellington and Manila.

Weaker

Tokyo shares ended weaker but recovered from earlier lows as public funds stepped in to buy across several sectors, including steel and pulp and paper. The 225-share Nikkei average fell 99.84 points or 0.55 percent to 17,916.60.

"Investors have no idea on which shares to focus and are now looking for shares which can lead the overall market," said Toshiyuki Nishiguchi, general manager at Daiwa Securities.

Bank Negara's tightening of credit on car and house loans drove down Malaysian share prices across the board, with motor and property stocks the hardest hit.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index dropped 11.51 points or 1.2 percent to 945.86.

Cut-loss selling depressed Singapore shares and brokers said more losses were on the horizon due to the lack of incentives and absence of many foreign funds.

The 30-share Straits Times Industrials Index lost 12.42 points or 0.59 percent to 2,099.38 in cautious trade.

Thai stocks opened lower and stayed there as selling in the finance sector flowed into other areas, brokers said. The SET index lost 7.13 points or 0.54 percent to 1,309.91.

"There was a lot of selling in the finance sector on expectation of weak third quarter results. That ruined the whole market sentiment," said one broker at a foreign house.

The Sydney, Seoul and Bombay bourses had narrow losses.