Share prices tumble on currency concerns

Share prices tumble on currency concerns

HONG KONG (AFP): Share markets across Asia Pacific tumbled
yesterday on the concerns over currency volatility, dealers said.

Regional currency traders faced a tough time when the ringgit,
rupiah and peso hit all-time lows, taking with them the usually
unflappable Singapore dollar to a 39-month low.

Shares in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila all dropped
Thursday in continued uncertainty.

"The regional currency meltdown, particularly the rapid fall
in the ringgit, is continuing to weigh on the market," a dealer
in Singapore said.

A senior dealer at a Kuala Lumpur bank-linked brokerage said
that investors, especially foreign funds, were speculating the
motives behind Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's endless calls
for a ban on currency trading.

"The prime minister is a seasoned politician and he knows what
he is doing. Market talk has it that he wants the ringgit to go
down further in order for exports to become cheaper," he said.
Japanese shares fell 2.2 percent, still affected by drop in
business confidence and little hope of government measures to
revive the economy.

In Tokyo, Japanese share prices closed 2.2 percent lower
depressed by profit-taking among blue chips and continued
futures-led selling, brokers said.

The key barometer of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 387.12
points to finish at 17,455.04 while the broader Topix index of
all first section issues dipped 21.67 points to 1,366.78.

In Hong Kong, financial markets were closed for National Day
holidays.

In Singapore, blue-chip stock prices ended 0.7 percent lower
on lack of foreign support due to weak sentiment in regional
currencies, dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip benchmark, Straits
Times Industrials index, fell 14.14 points to end at 1,927.60
while the broader All-Singapore index fell 1.89 points to 469.54.

In Sydney, the Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the
all ordinaries index, dipped 1.1 points to 2,778.1.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index closed 0.5 percent
lower but off its low amid some buying interest by local
investors amid lingering concerns about the ringgit.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite
index fell 4.25 points to 791.58, after hitting an intra-day low
of 785.75 points.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices closed up 0.6 percent in thin
trade with investors sidelined ahead of a cabinet reshuffle
expected next week and a financial sector reform package due out
Oct. 15, analysts said.

The market shrugged off Moody's Investors Service downgrade of
the country's long term foreign currency ratings for bonds and
notes to "Baa1" from "A3", they said.

The composite Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index finished
up 3.06 points at 550.86, while the selected SET 50 index added
0.37 points to end at 41.80.

In Jakarta, share prices slipped 0.01 percent amid lackluster
trade hampered by concerns about the weak rupiah and tightening
liquidity, dealers said.

In Manila, Philippine share prices dropped 1.7 percent on
fears of more bank defaults and the fall of the peso, analysts
said.

"It is a confluence of everything," an analyst for Pryce
Securities Inc. said, citing the fall of the peso against the
dollar, the resulting high interest rates, reports of more
companies defaulting on bank loans and the economic malaise
affecting the region.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 36.15
points to close at 2,031.47 points.

In Shanghai, the Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index
slid 190.36 points to 8,504. 66.

In Seoul, the composite index dropped 8.27 points to close at
636.65 on a volume of 27.6 million shares worth 363.8 billion won
($398 million).

In London, shares punched deeper into uncharted territory
Thursday, encouraged by Wall Street's overnight rally and reports
that the British government is planning fiscal changes which
would cut companies' tax bills.

In morning trading, the FT-SE 100 index soared to a fresh all-
time high of 5,367.3, before easing to 5,352.6, up 35.5 from the
previous day's close.

In Paris, the CAC-40 index opened 3.22 points lower at
3,051.71.