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| Subject: Asian Shares End Mostly Lower On Europe Woes; Tokyo Extends Losing Streak | |
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Author: Star Woes11/04/2012 7:20PM |
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Date Posted: 08:59:47 04/11/12 Wed Asian Shares End Mostly Lower On Europe Woes; Tokyo Extends Losing Streak 11/04/2012 7:20PM By Virginia Harrison in Sydney and V. Phani Kumar in Hong Kong HONG KONG (MarketWatch)--Most Asian markets fell Wednesday as heightened worries about rising Spanish and Italian bond yields weighed on investor sentiment, with the Tokyo market slumping to a seven-week low and suffering its longest losing streak in almost three years. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.8% to 9458.74. Intraday, the index hit its lowest level since Feb. 17 before tepid bargain-hunting set in. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 1.1%, while China's Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% higher and Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.2%. South Korean markets were closed for national elections. Asian markets began the day in reverse gear after European stocks tumbled and U.S. stocks suffered this year's worst drop on Tuesday, as a sharp rise in Spanish and Italian borrowing costs stirred fresh worries about Europe's debt crisis. "The issue [of Europe] has been quiet for the past month, and it will continue to pressure global markets in the short-term," said Conita Hung, head of equity markets at Delta Asia Financial Group in Hong Kong. "Asia markets will be more volatile in the coming weeks and will look to economic data in the U.S. and China, as well as U.S. corporate earnings season," she added. A stronger yen, steep declines on Wall Street, and worries about European debt problems sent major exporters lower in Tokyo. Panasonic Corp. dropped 2.2%, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. shed 3.3% and Pioneer Corp. declined 1.3%. The decline in Tokyo also came as Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. each disappointed with a weak earnings forecast. Sony stock tumbled 4.5% and Sharp gave up 3.2%. The Bank of Japan's Tuesday decision to refrain from taking further easing steps also weighed on sentiment, according to Matsui Securities market analyst Tomoichiro Kubota. "It seems that players may have the 'pre-sell before May and go away' mentality," said David Rubenstein, senior technology analyst at Religare Global Asset Management Japan. "Premiums have drifted down quite a bit so maybe some buying will emerge in blue chips. But, frankly 9000 to 9100 looks like the next support level for the Nikkei." The Nikkei, which ranked among the world's best performing benchmarks in the first quarter with a gain of more than 19%, has shed 6.2% of its value so far this month. The region's aluminum shares fell under the influence of the broader market decline. In Sydney, Alumina lost 0.4%, while Nippon Light Metal lost 2.6% in Tokyo and United Co. Rusal dropped 2.1% in Hong Kong. Several resource firms declined on fresh worries about Europe and after crude-oil and copper prices declined overnight. In Sydney, BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum each dropped 1.9%, while Inpex shed 0.8% in Tokyo. In Hong Kong, Cnooc Ltd. and PetroChina gave up 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively. Property developers also contributed to the overall weakness in Hong Kong, where Sino Land tumbled 4%, while CC Land Holdings dropped 0.6% and Guangzhou R&F Properties shed 1.4%. But some analysts remained optimistic about developers, with Deutsche Bank strategists naming Guangzhou R&F and CC Land among its top picks. "We anticipate sales volume to pick up in the coming weeks on strong end-user demand, more new project launches and developers more willing to cut prices," the strategists said. In Shanghai, some property developers continued to rise amid expectations the government will loosen its policies. Cinda Real Estate added 2.5% and Poly Real Estate Group gained 1.0% in Shanghai, while Oceanwide Real Estate Group Co. soared 6% in Shenzhen. -Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415-4140; markettalk@dowjones.com TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at TalkbackAsia@dowjones.com. Readers should include their full names, work or home addresses and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit and publish your comments along with your name; we reserve the right not to publish reader comments. (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 11, 2012 05:20 ET (09:20 GMT) Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |