Shares continue to fall in Tokyo
TOKYO (Agencies): Share prices continued to fall on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday with investors sitting on the sidelines to watch the impact of a possible U.S. interest rate hike.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues in the first section lost 54.91 points or 0.3 percent to close at 20,133.53. The index ended 82.31 points lower the previous day.
The broader-based Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues in the section, which closed 4.19 points lower Monday, lost 2.58 points to end at 1,636.43.
In Hong Kong, stock prices dived 2.26 percent as investors went on profit-taking ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve's decision whether to further increase interest rates.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index lost 208.71 points to close the day's trading at 9,044.70 in roller-coaster trading.
In Singapore, the blue-chip Straits Times Industrials index gained 14.08 points to close at 2,304.49. The broader-based SES All-Singapore index added 3.29 points to finish at 571.58.
In Bangkok, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) continued to rise on the strength of first-quarter earnings which listed companies announced Monday, gaining 12.01 points or 0.93 percent to close at 1,302.85, one broker said.
In Taipei, following Monday's 22.76-point rise, the benchmark 375-issue weighted price index plunged 98.95 points or 1.61 percent to close at 6,015.83 points. Turnover rose to 1,543 million shares valued at 67.29 billion
In Sydney, the all ordinaries index closed 0.7 percent or 14.9 points down at 2096.0, just off its low of 2,094.8, while the all resources index fell 20.2 points to close at 1318.6 and the all industrials dropped nine points to 3,125.4.
In London, the Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100 leading British shares fell 2.5 points to 3,113.1.
In Paris, the CAC-40 share index gained 2.98 to 2,190.68.
In New York, Wall Street stock prices came back cautiously Monday, fueled by lower long-term interest rates on the eve of a key Federal Reserve board meeting.
The Dow Jones Index of 30 leading industrials finished 11.82 points higher at 3,671.50 points with 235 million shares changing hands.