Asian stocks mostly weaker ahead of U.S. elections

Asian stocks mostly weaker ahead of U.S. elections

HONG KONG (Reuter): Asian stocks were mostly weaker yesterday with investors' attention focused on the United States where an imminent rise in interest rates and mid-term elections are causing market jitters.

Philippine shares were the day's biggest losers, plunging 41.43 points to 3,000.51, down almost three percent since last Friday.

The Composite Index may fall as low as 2,980 if the peso keeps strengthening, they added.

Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Wellington, Tokyo, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were all lower, although brokers said trading was thin and subdued.

"The market was really quite boring today," said a dealer at a in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index fell 18.22 points to 9,416.09. "It all depends on Wall Street."

Investors were unwilling to move after New York hardly moved overnight and were waiting to see if the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee hikes interest rates next week, brokers said.

The story was the same in Australia, where the All Ordinaries Index eased 12.0 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1967.30.

The opening in Sydney was delayed by more than an hour by technical problems but brokers were not too despondent despite the late start and thin trade.

In Tokyo caution ahead of the U.S. elections later today brought trade to a virtual standstill.

The 225-share Nikkei average ended down 10.20 points or 0.05 percent at 19,609.02 with the index moving in an extremely narrow 90 point range.

The composite index closed at 1,138.75, up 5.76 points from the previous record high of 1,132.99 on Monday.

In Seoul, stock rose in active trading with the index ending at a record closing high, a late buying spurt of primary blue chips outweighing selective sales, brokers said.

The composite index closed at 1,138.75, up 5.76 points from the previous record high of 1,132.99 on Monday.

Taiwan share prices closed higher in slow trade as bargain- hunters entered the market after yesterday's year-low turnover, brokers said. The index ended up 28.18 points, or 0.45 percent, at 6,348.20, off a 6,386.49 high. Turnover was a slow T$29.64 billion ($1.13 billion).

European stock and currency markets were on hold as dealers awaited the results of the U.S. mid-term elections which are expected to weaken the position of President Bill Clinton.

In London, by 1140 GMT the Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100 leading British shares had fallen 10.4 points to 3,055.4.

In Paris, the CAC-40 share index rose 0.42 to 1,906.49. The 30-share DAX index in Frankfurt was up 11.76 at 2,055.28.

Blue-chip stocks closed slightly higher in New York on Monday as traders marked time ahead of yesterday's U.S. elections and an interest rate hike expected next week.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended 1.35 points higher at 3,808.87, based on early and unofficial data.