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).