Wall Street snag hits Asian stocks

Wall Street snag hits Asian stocks

TOKYO (AFP): Most Asia-Pacific stock markets ended lower Friday, with sentiment hit by declines in Tokyo and New York, in the climax to another volatile week's trading.

Uncertainty following the election of opposition veteran Kim Dae-jung as South Korea's new president was another dampener.

Tokyo fell 5.2 percent, Seoul 5.1 percent, Hong Kong 3.2 percent, Singapore 1.2 percent, Sydney 1.4 percent and Taipei 2.0 percent.

Japanese share prices dived amid growing pessimism over the likely impact of the long awaited government economic package, brokers said.

The key Nikkei stock average of 225 selected issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 846.75 points to end the session at 15,314.89 while the Topix index of all issues on the first section was down 45.55 points at 1,167. 38.

In Hong Kong, share prices dropped 3.2 percent on profit- taking after two days of gains, as investors turned jittery following declines in New York and Tokyo, dealers said.

The key Hang Seng Index lost 348.30 points to close at 10,405.81, amid continued gloom over the region's economic outlook.

"Investors stayed out of the (Hong Kong) market as there were wide perception that most regional markets will not see a recovery in short term," said Alex Tang, research head of Yamaichi International.

In Singapore, stock prices ended 1.2 percent lower in reaction to a slide on Wall Street and weakness in regional currencies.

The blue-chip Straits Times Industrials index of the Stock Exchange of Singapore fell 18.80 points to 1,572.61 while the broader All-Singapore index was 1.63 points higher to 426.75.

In Sydney, Australian share prices slipped 1.4 percent, sapped by a slide in the Japanese stock market, brokers said.

The Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the All Ordinaries index, fell 35 points to 2,528.1.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index closed 0.2 percent higher as buying support for bluechips led by Telekom Malaysia Bhd. reversed earlier losses.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite index rose 1.18 points to end at 578.76, off the day's low of 565.36 points. The lesser second board index fell 1.6 percent or 3.10 points to 185.79.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices fell 0.5 percent as the baht and regional currencies dropped and prevailing tight liquidity handicapped any buying interest, analysts said.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) broad-based index fell 2.13 points closing at 385.25, while the SET 50 select index closed down 0.29 points at 27.45 points.

In Manila, Philippine share prices rose 0.7 percent on Friday in response to continued moves to stabilize the local currency, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 12.13 points to close at 1,858.22 points.

In Seoul, share prices closed 5.1 percent lower on the Korea Stock Exchange on concerns that tough restructuring programs could be introduced now that a new president had been elected, dealers said.

"The fall can't be blamed only on the election but investors are somewhat uneasy and worried about how the change of government will affect them and the markets," said a dealer at Daewoo Securities.

The composite index closed down 21.47 points at 397.02, off a low of 396. 59.

In Shanghai, the B shares, nominally reserved for foreign investors, closed 0.8 percent lower in line with losses in Hong Kong and regional markets, analysts said.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange's B share index closed 0.46 points down at 54. 51 points while the A share index of locally-traded stocks rose 7.34 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,223.25 points.

In Taipei, Taiwan stocks dipped 2.0 percent led by technology shares as market sentiment went bearish on the back of the overnight fall on Wall Street, brokers said.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index dipped 162.47 points to 8, 092.58.

In Auckland, New Zealand stocks closed down 0.8 percent with stocks exposed to Asia hit hard, with the NZSE-40 falling 17.56 points to 2300.95.

In London, the FT-SE 100 index of leading shares fell by 73.2 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,095.1 points.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index opened 1.67 percent lower at 2,846.08 points.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index opened 0.96 percent lower at 4,126.33 points.