Asian stocks cautious, Tokyo withstands tankan
Asian stocks cautious, Tokyo withstands tankan
Jennifer Chen, Agencies, Singapore
Japanese shares surged two percent on Monday shrugging off yet another gloomy indicator from the world's second largest economy, as investors elsewhere braced for an expected U.S. military strike against Afghanistan.
Markets in Greater China and South Korea were closed for their annual harvest festivals, giving Asian investors pause to ponder what implications a U.S. military strike might have on the volatile Middle East and its rippling effect on oil prices.
Tokyo's blue-chip Nikkei index climbed 2.02 percent to 9,972.28, despite a rash of profit warnings in the high-tech sector and a gloomy business sentiment survey.
The yen held its ground despite the Bank of Japan's September "tankan" survey, which showed the headline diffusion index stumbling to minus 33 from minus 16 in June.
But the Japanese currency was later felled by threats of intervention from Ministry of Finance officials, eager to show the seriousness of their intent to drive the yen lower after last week's limited success at knocking it down.
A stronger yen means less export competitiveness, which Japan can ill-afford now.
Shares in Manila, Jakarta, and Bangkok lost ground as investors fretted over the possibility of U.S. military action.
In Jakarta, investors worried that Muslim radicals may retaliate against foreigners if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan.
The JSX Composite index ended down 1 percent, or 3.804 points, at 388.675. Decliners led gainers 85 to 27 with 66 stocks unchanged.
Volume was light at 244 million shares valued at 207 billion rupiah (US$20.9 million).
Dealers said the weaker rupiah is also hurting sentiment towards the bourse, with some currency traders now tipping the rupiah will slip to 10,000 against the U.S. dollar this week.
Singapore stocks bucked the downtrend in Southeast Asia thanks to gains in heavyweights Singapore Press Holding, Singapore Airlines and DBS Group.
Though the region was quiet, this week was shaping up to be a busy one in the United States, with the National Association of Purchasing Management issuing its September index on Monday and the Labor Department releasing its September jobs data on Friday.
The week's main event is the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday, which the market expects will produce another rate cut to help the badly shaken U.S. economy.