Among Asian bourses
Nikkei falls 2.25% on stronger yen, profit booking
Japanese stock market closed down for second straight day, as yen appreciation against major rivals, Fitch warning, and weak global cues sparked profit-taking in exporters and overbought shares. The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average declined 400.80 points, or 2.25%, to 17412.58.
The market mood has turned to a risk off mode largely due to yen appreciation against major rivals in Asia trade today. The U.S. dollar suffered a new bout of selling, ending the Tokyo trading session at 119.18 yen. Just two days prior, it fetched nearly 122 yen. A weaker dollar is bad for exporters, as they have less latitude to cut prices on goods they sell overseas, and don't earn as much yen when then repatriate the profits back home.
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings downward revision of Japan's sovereign credit also weighed on stocks. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday placed Japan's sovereign credit on Rating Watch Negative, warning that the delay in raising consumption tax would put the government's objective of reducing the national debt at risk. Fitch said it has placed Japan's A+ long-term sovereign credit rating on negative watch. The warning came a week after Moody's downgraded Japan's credit rating, citing rising uncertainty over the debt situation and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's faltering efforts to kickstart the world's number three economy.
Shares sensitive to the currency market declined, with car makers being major losers. Toyota lost 3.0%, Suzuki Motor fell 3.2%, and Fuji Heavy Industries gave up 4.3%. Shares of index heavily weight also fell, with e-commerce firm SoftBank slipping 1.1%, while Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing fell 2.3%.
Shares of construction machinery makers also declined, with Komatsu losing 3.4% and Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) dropping 3.5% after reports that Komatsu's sales in China are projected to fall by 20% to 130 billion yen in the current fiscal year. The stock prices of both Komatsu and HCM tend to fluctuate based on Chinese economic indicators and other growth data.
Aussie stocks fall for second day
Australian share market closed lower for second consecutive day, due to slump in consumer sentiment and lingering fears about commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 23.70 points, or 0.45%, to close at 5259 and the broader All Ordinaries index lost 21.20 points, or 0.4%, to 5237.10. Market turnover was healthy, with 1.4 billion shares changed hands worth of A$4.92 billion. 532 stocks were up, while 775 were down.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute measure of consumer sentiment released on Wednesday, showing confidence dropped this month by a much larger-than-expected 5.7 % to 91.1 points, a lowest level in three years. Anything under 100 points means the number of pessimists outweigh the number of optimists.
Financial shares were down, with big banks all down on profit boking. Westpac Banking Corp declined 1.6% to A$32.52, ANZ Banking Group 1.2% to A$31.49 and National Australia Bank 0.9% to A$32.30, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.4% to A$82.35.
Shares of mining companies rebounded, due to bottom hunting after oil, gold and copper prices all rallied. Investor shrugged off a 1.1 % fall in the spot price of iron ore to $69.06 a tonne. Resources giant BHP Billiton rose 1.8 % to A$29.39, while Rio Tinto lifted 1.6 % to $56.40. Gold Miner Newcrest Mining jumped 2% to A$10.49, Perseus rose 2.2% to A$0.235 and Kingsgate added 5.3% to A$0.69. Woodside Petroleum lifted 1.5 % to A$34.90, despite the weaker crude oil price today.
Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys Group enjoyed a solid debut on the share market, closing 10 cents higher at A$2.85, above the A$2.75 investors paid as part of the company's A$75 million initial public offering.
Shanghai Composite jumps 2.93% on stimulus bets
Mainland China share market closed higher in volatile trading, on renewed speculation of further policy easing from government after lesser than expected growth in inflation in November. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended higher by 2.93% at 2940.01, after falling as much as 1.7% earlier in the day. The benchmark plunged 5.4% yesterday following a surprise move by Beijing to rein in lending that fueled concerns about growth in the world's No. 2 economy.
Inflation in China rose less than expected, providing policy makers room for further stimulus to support growth. China's consumer-price index rose 1.4% from a year earlier in November, a five-year low, after a 1.6% on-year rise in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. The CPI declined 0.2% month-over-month in November. In October, it was flat compared with the preceding month. China's the producer-price index fell 2.7% year-over-year in November, faster than a 2.2% fall in October. The PPI declined 0.5% month-over-month in November. In October, it fell 0.4% from September.
All 10 SSE industry groups advanced, with gauges of consumer discretionary, utility and industrial companies climbed more than 5%. Zhe Jiang Daily Media Group led a rally for media shares, surging 8.6%. SAIC Motor Corp., the biggest automaker, soared 7.4%. Chongqing Water Group Co. jumped by the 10% daily limit. China Railway Group Ltd. added 9.5%.
Hang Seng rises 38.69 points
Hong Kong share market closed slight higher in volatile trading, on tracking rebound in the mainland A-share market. The Hang Seng Index ended higher 38.69 points, or 0.16%, to 23524.52, off an intra-day high of 23656.51 and low of 23656.51. Turnover decreased to HK$109.93 billion from HK$144.18 billion on Tuesday.
As for the Shanghai-HK stock connect flow, the northbound quota balance was Rmb11.059 billion, while the southbound quota balance was Rmb10.109 billion, accounting for 85.1% and 96.3% of the daily allowed quotas, respectively.
HK market heavyweights were mixed. China Mobile (00941) was flat at HK$91.75, while HSBC (00005) edged down 0.2% to HK$76.45.Tencent (00700) slid 0.26% to HK$115.5 after chairman Pony Ma sold HK$3 billion shares.
Shares of Macau gaming players were higher on bargain hunting following recent losses. Galaxy Ent (00027) shot on 3.23% to HK$47.9. Sands China (01928) and Wynn Macau (01128) put on 1.13% and 0.92% to HK$40.3 and HK$22.05.
Sensex snaps 3-day losing streak
Indian benchmark indices eked out small gains after alternately swinging between gains and losses in intraday trade. The overall movement for the benchmark indices during the trading session was within a relatively narrow range. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 34.09 points or 0.12% to settle at 27,831.10.
Insurance stocks edged higher after the Parliamentary Select Committee cleared the government's proposal of an increase in cap on foreign investment in the insurance sector to 49% from 26%.
Jewellery stocks jumped on reports that the government may change gold-import rules for trading houses. Tata Power Company advanced after the company said it has signed a share purchase agreement for acquisition of a 540 megawatts (MW) coal based thermal power project in Maharashtra. Sugar stocks were in demand on renewed buying.
Shares of steel makers advanced after India's Ministry of Commerce & Industry yesterday, 9 December 2014, said that India has achieved a significant victory at the WTO, as the WTO Appellate Body (AB) in its ruling dated 8 December 2014 held that the Countervailing Duty (CVD) measures imposed by the United States against certain hot rolled carbon steel flat products from India are inconsistent with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM).
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 1.06% to 9032.16. South Korea KOSPI was down 1.3% to 1945.56. New Zealand's NZX50 was down 0.3% up at 5524. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.17% at 3325.46. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index grew 0.84% to 5165.41. Malaysia's KLCI rose 1.58% to 1765.52.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
