Profit-taking hits Asian stock markets
Profit-taking hits Asian stock markets
TOKYO (AFP): Asian bourses fell Friday as fretful investors quickly pocketed profits ahead of the week-end and began the wait for a U.S. interest-rate cut in the week ahead.
Japanese share prices tumbled 3.4 percent, Hong Kong fell 1.7 percent, Sydney dipped 2.0 percent, Singapore closed 0.9 percent lower, Seoul fell dropped 2.2 percent and Jakarta retreated 2.5 percent.
Other regional bourses ended marginally lower.
Dealers said investors booked profits on strong gains the previous day, spooked by a sharp overnight fall on Wall Street.
In Tokyo, share prices were also pressured by a deepening political stalemate over bank rescue legislation, brokers said.
The key Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 481.94 points to finish at 13,723.84.
In Hong Kong, share prices fell 1.7 percent on profit-taking following a sharp fall on Wall Street overnight, dealers said.
"The fall is mainly due to the decline on Wall Street as well as in Tokyo, which gave investors an excuse to digest recent gains," said Ben Kwong, research director at Dharmala Securities.
The key Hang Seng index lost 133.00 points to close the day's trading at 7, 701.61, ending three consecutive sessions of gains.
In Sydney, Australian share prices ended sharply lower, falling 2 percent on bearish sentiment in the U.S. market, losses in key Asian bourses and local profit taking, brokers said.
The Australian Stock Exchange's main barometer, the All Ordinaries index, closed 51.5 points lower at 2,563.4.
In Singapore, Singapore share prices closed 0.9 percent lower amid concerns the collapse of a major U.S. hedge fund could trigger more failures.
The Straits Times Index fell 8.06 points to 923.92, while the broader All-Singapore index fell 1.05 points to 284.85.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian share prices ended mildly lower but off earlier lows in range-bound trading on profit-taking ahead of the long weekend, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite index closed at 387.27 points, down 0.19 of a point from Thursday's close.
In Bangkok Thai shares closed 0.5 percent lower on profit- taking, unable to sustain this week's buying surge, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) main index fell 1.25 points to 248. 93, while the SET 50 selected index slipped 0.17 points to 17.45.
In Manila, Philippine share prices closed marginally lower on last-minute profit taking spurred by a sharp drop on Wall Street overnight, analysts said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 4.79 points to close at 1,215.46.
In Seoul, South Korean shares closed 2.2 percent lower on profit-taking and continued worries over regional markets following a steep decline on Wall Street, dealers said.
The Korea Stock Exchange main index fell 6.96 points at 303.79, off a low of 302.58.
In Taipei, Taiwan share prices ended virtually unchanged in thin trading as investors took to the sidelines pending the emergence of new leads, dealers said.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index dropped 0.06 points to 6,979.89, following a 0.3 percent rise in the previous session.
In Shanghai, the B share index gained 0.87 point to settle at 32.22 points while the A share index of locally-traded stocks ended up 23.82 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,298.60 points.
In Auckland, New Zealand stocks fell 1.2 percent, influenced by the weaker off-shore markets and a sharp fall on Wall Street overnight.
The NZSE-40 index fell 21.27 to 1,709.19 points on turnover of NZ$99.5 million (US$49 million).