Regional markets slip fractionally
TOKYO (AFP): Most regional markets fell Tuesday for reasons ranging from widespread profit-taking to the death of a high- profile business figure in Malaysia and turmoil in Thailand's banking and finance sectors.
Japanese stocks rebounded but closed off highs with the key market gauge rising 0.7 percent on improved sentiment following the yen's downturn and gains on Wall Street, brokers said.
The key Nikkei stock average of 225 selected issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 135.65 points to end the session at 18,564.78 points, while the broader Topix index of all first section issues gained 8.36 points 1,387.94.
In Jakarta, share prices closed 0.7 percent lower on continued profit taking in selective stocks, with most foreign investors staying on the selling side, dealers said.
"Personally, I think the correction is good news. I hope it will go down a bit more," Usaha Bersama Sekuritas institutional sales manager Alastair Bruce said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 4.59 points at 695. 52.
In Hong Kong, share prices fell 0.4 percent on profit-taking, mainly on financial stocks, dealers said.
"Trading was rather mixed," said Simon Tam, sales manager of Sassoon Securities, adding "on one side you have financials under profit-taking" after HSBC Holdings plc Monday reported hefty profits.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index closed 1.0 percent lower following news of the tragic death of auto king Yahaya Ahmad, who controlled a mini empire of nine listed companies.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite index plunged 13.21 points to 1,247.23. The lesser second board index fell 5.09 points, or 0.8 percent, to 639.40.
In Singapore, the Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip barometer, Straits Times Industrials index, fell 6.90 points to end at 2,189.44, while the broader All-Singapore index dipped 0.46 point to 551.90.
In Sydney, the Australian Stock Exchange's key barometer, the all ordinaries index, finished 10.9 points up at 2432.1.
In Taipei, the Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index gained 76.12 points to 7, 956.57.
In Seoul, the composite index edged up 0.33 points to finish at 679.97.
In Wellington, the New Zealand Stock Exchange 40 capital index closed up 7.71 points to 2288.58, with Telecom Corp. up 12 cents to 6.69 dollars.
In Bangkok, the broad-based Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index was down 18.50 points to finish at 688.74 points, while the selected SET 50 index lost 1.67 points to end at 50.27 points.
In Shanghai, the B index rose 0.37 points to close at 68.49 points. The A share index of domestically-traded stocks rose 5.34 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,116.79 points.
In London, the FT-SE 100 index of leading shares rose by 28.0 points to 4,335.1 points in early trading yesterday.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index opened 23.25 points higher at 2,623.51 points
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 41.18 points to 6,918.92 after losing more than 160 points the last three sessions.