Asian stocks seen mixed this week

Asian stocks seen mixed this week

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta/Singapore/Japan

Indonesian shares, which fell marginally last week, are expected
to strengthen this week pushed by Telkom, carmaker Astra
International and resource companies, dealers said over the
weekend.

"We see that the upward movement may be capped below 770
because historically that is a very strong trend-line
resistance," said Arianto Reksoprojo, senior analyst at Trimegah
Securities.

Market mover stocks such as Sampoerna which have already
strengthened could help cap the rise, Reksoprojo said.

An institutional dealer with Samuel Securities also said
investors expected the index rebound to slowly reach 800 points.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed on Friday at
761.140, down 5.045 points, or 0.66 percent, from the previous
week. Average daily volume was 1.37 billion shares worth Rp
635.108 billion (US$71 million) compared with 1.83 billion shares
worth Rp 1.03 trillion the previous week.

In Singapore, the share prices are tipped to rise but
technology stocks may stay subdued amid growing concerns of a
slowdown hitting the sector, according to dealers.

The Straits Times Index closed on Friday at 1,871.47, up 9.44
points or 0.51 percent from a week ago.

Investors have already started to shun technology stocks in
favor their property counterparts as private sector economists
warned electronics exports will wane demand from China and the
United States slow, economists said.

Electronics make up of half of Singapore's NODX and is an
important polar of the local manufacturing industry. A robust
20.9 percent jump in June NODX failed to excite local investors
who preferred put their funds into the property stocks that are
seen as good bargains at current valuations.

In Tokyo, Japanese shares are expected to continue under
pressure, with foreign investors in particular reluctant to buy
heavily into the tech sector amid concerns over the second half
outlook.

"The market is expected to remain gloomy as foreign players
are likely to be sidelined," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a senior
analyst at SMBC Friend Securities.

"The tech sector was a major selling target in the past week
and may remain under pressure in the coming week," Nakanishi
said. "Right now, no one wants to stay buying for a long time.
Players may test support (for the Nikkei index) at 11,000 next
week."

Already under pressure, techs got hit again mid-week when U.S.
chip giant Intel cut its profit margin forecast to 60 percent
from 62 percent for the balance of the year. Strong results from
IBM and Samsung Electronics later in the week had little
immediate impact.

Last week, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225
index rose 12.47 points or 0.11 percent to 11,436.00 after losing
2.5 percent the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Thai stock market is expected to be pressured
by a host of foreign and domestic factors including a lingering
bird flu crisis in the kingdom.

"I think the market should be relatively stable although it
may fall further... as a main concern is the re-emergence of bird
flu," said Anupon Sri-ard, chief analyst at BFIT Securities.

Thailand on Friday announced a sharp increase in outbreaks of
a lethal strain of bird flu and confirmed it had reached the
capital Bangkok and 14 other provinces.

Analyst Teerada Charnyingyong at Philip Securities believed
the index could move between 630 and 660 points as investors keep
a close eye on the negative factors.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index shed 20.48
points or 3.07 percent in the past week to close on Friday at
646.11.