Asian markets close mixed - Asian commentary

(RTTNews) - The stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed mixed on Friday following a mixed performance overnight on Wall Street and on the back of surging oil prices. Stock markets in Japan, South Korean and China closed in negative territory, while Australia and New Zealand closed higher on bargain hunting. U.S stocks ended Thursday's abbreviated session on a mixed note following the release of some mixed economic data. While the Nasdaq closed lower, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed in positive territory. The U.S. markets are closed on Friday for a public holiday.

Crude oil settled up US$1.72 at a record US$145.29 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday, after trading at a record high of US$145.85. In late Asian trading, crude oil eased US$1.25 to US$144.04. Crude oil price has gained 52 percent this year.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar advanced against the Japanese yen, the Korean won and the Australian as well as New Zealand dollars on Friday. In Tokyo, the dollar was quoted at 106.72-106.75 yen in late trades, compared with Thursday's close of 106.03-106.04 yen in Tokyo. Meanwhile, the South Korean won closed down 5.4 won at 1,050.40 won against the U.S. dollar, the lowest in 32 months. The Australian dollar ended trading at USD0.9617-0.9622, down from Thursday's close of USD0.9626-0.9629. The kiwi was buying USD0.7561 in late trades, down from Thursday's close of USD0.7603.

The Japanese stock market closed lower for the twelfth straight session on Friday, as worries mounted over rising oil prices, while real estate stocks fell on credit fears.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened higher, but surrendered its early gains and slipped into negative territory. However, the index pared most of its losses to end the session down 0.2%. This marks the longest losing streak since late April 1954 when the Nikkei fell for 15 consecutive trading sessions.

The Nikkei 225 Index lost 27.51 points or 0.21% to close at 13237.89 and the broader Topix Index of all First Section issues declined 0.14 points or 0.01% to finish at 1,297.88. Both the indices fell for the fourth straight week.

Among economic news, the sale of foreign-made motor vehicles in Japan declined 15.1% in June compared to one year earlier, according to a report from the Japan Automobile Importers Association on Friday. The group said that sales of imported cars, trucks and buses totaled 20,725 in June, compared to 24,406 from June 2007. It was the second straight monthly on-year decline. Overall, imported auto sales, including domestic sales of vehicles produced overseas by Japanese companies, were lower by 20.8%.

Japan's leading index declined slightly to 92.6 in May from 92.8 in April, a preliminary report from the Cabinet Office showed Friday. Economists had expected a reading of 93. Meanwhile, the coincident index climbed to 103.4 from 101.7 in April, slightly below the consensus forecast of 103.4. The lagging index stood at 103.9 versus 103.7 in the previous month.

Apartment developer Urban Corp. fell 28% on concern that it might not be able to complete the sale of convertible bonds to BNP Paribas SA. Both the companies rejected the speculation. Other property stocks also tumbled. Joint Corp. slid 13%, Sumitomo Realty & Development lost 3% and Zephyr Corp. dropped 6.3%. Zephyr had announced the bankruptcy of a subsidiary in May.

In the tech space, Advantest declined 1.13%, Fanuc eased 0.41% and Tokyo Electron lost 1.18%, while Matsushita Electric Industrial gained 1.52% and NEC rose 2.50%.

Banking and auto maker stocks closed mixed. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 1.26% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group eased 0.26%, while Mizuho Financial Group added 0.42% and Resona Holdings gained 1.23%. Among automakers, Mazda rose 4.56%, Nissan advanced 0.81% and Toyota added 0.41%, while Honda eased 0.28% and Suzuki closed flat.

Meanwhile, Komatsu rose 2.35% and Sony advanced 0.65% while Canon eased 0.38%.

Oil stock Nippon Oil lost 1.65%, while Nippon Mining Holdings added 0.31% and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK rose 3.04%. Brokerage Daiwa Securities declined 1.26% and Nomura Holdings lost 1.10%.

Steel makers advanced after being among the major losers on Thursday. JFE Holdings climbed 2.4%, Nippon Steel Corp. added 1.5% and Mitsubishi Steel rose 4.1%.

Takoi Carbon jumped 11.4%. The company said it would raise prices for its graphite electrodes for export by about 75% in order to counter rising costs. Meanwhile, Asahi Breweries declined 4.3% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the company's stock.

The South Korean market closed almost 2% lower on Friday on concerns that surging oil prices could stoke inflation and slow down global economic growth.

The benchmark KOSPI Index lost 28.60 points or 1.78% to close at 1,577.94, the weakest closing since March 17. The index has fallen over 8% during a seven-day losing streak.

In currency trading, the South Korean won closed down 5.4 won at 1,050.40 won against the U.S. dollar, the lowest in 32 months. The decline was sparked by strong demand for the US dollar as foreigners trimmed their holdings of local shares and refineries had to pay more to import crude.

Tech and banking stocks led the losers on selling by foreign investors. In the tech space, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 2.69%, Hynix Semiconductor plunged 6.79% and LG. Philips LCD lost 1.06%. However, LG Electronics added 0.44%. Among banking stocks, Woori Finance dipped 2.13% and KookMin Bank slid 3.74%.

Auto stocks closed in positive territory on the back of a weaker won and on optimism that rising crude oil prices would prompt consumers to buy small-sized cars. Hyundai Motor gained 2.28% and Kia Motors rose 3.95%. Telecom stocks also closed higher. SK Telecom added 0.79% and KT rose 2.01%. Oil scrip SK Oil declined 1.59% and S-Oil lost 1.87%, while energy stock KEPCO dipped 1.31%. Steel maker POSCO declined 1.63%.

Daewoo Construction & Engineering shed 3.04%. Record oil prices dragged down airline stocks lower. Korean Air Lines lost 2.78% and Asiana Airlines declined 2.32%.

The Chinese stock market closed lower on Friday, weighed down by concerns over rising oil prices. Coal producers declined after a report said that the Chinese government might announce a new tax on coal production this weekend.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 33.64 points, or 1.24% to close at 2,669.89, off a low of 2,645.83.

Oil refiners closed lower on concern production costs will increase and on rumors that the government could end value-added tax rebates on imported crude oil in the current quarter. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, lost 3.19%, while PetroChina declined 2.24%.

Coal producers were led lower after a report that China might increase a tax on coal production this weekend. China Shenhua Energy Co. slumped 8.13%, Shanxi Xishan Coal & Electricity Power Co. fell 9.48% and China Coal Energy fell 7.68%.

Insurer Ping An declined 0.94% even after announcing that it would not need to make financial provisions for its investment in Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance group Fortis, whose stock has plunged 44% this year.

The Australian market closed higher on Friday, ending five straight sessions of losses. The market opened on a positive note and maintained the streak throughout the trading session to close above the psychologically important mark of 5,000.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 83.80 points or 1.68% to end at 5,082.10, while the All Ordinaries Index gained 76.00 points or 1.49% to close at 5,170.00.

Mining and banking stocks led the gainers. Among miners, BHP Billiton gained 2.21% and Rio Tinto rose 3.08%. BHP, following the lead by rival Rio Tinto, agreed to an 85% rise in the price of its Western Australian iron ore and signed a deal with Chinese steel maker Baosteel.

Gold Miner Oxiana gained 4.04%, while Lihir Gold lost 2.48% and Newcrest Mining edged down 0.07%. The spot price of gold in Sydney on Friday afternoon was sharply lower than the price at close on Thursday.

In the banking sector, ANZ climbed 4.33%, Commonwealth Bank rose 2.37%, National Australian Bank gained 4.00%, St. George Bank climbed 2.96% and Westpac Banking advanced 3.10%. Investment bank Babcock & Brown climbed 4.60% and Macquarie Bank rose 3.34%

Among retailers, David Jones soared 4.90%, Harvey Norman Holding advanced 3.67% and Woolworths gained 1.30%. Media scrip Fairfax gained 6.30%, News Corp. added 1.82% and Seven Network soared 6.35%.

Energy stocks were mixed after the price of oil rose to more than US$145 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday. Oil scrip Oil Search added 0.33% and Santos advanced 0.71%, while Woodside Petroleum lost 2.14%. In the insurance space, AMP rose 3.99% and AXA Asia Pacific soared 4.29% while IAG lost 1.07%. Media reports said that IAG could announce A$200 million in writedowns at its UK operations, which might force it to cut its final dividend.

Origin Energy eased 0.80%. The company urged its stockholders to reject a A$13.7 billion bid from UK-based BP plc. In addition, the company said it agreed to buy Babcock & Brown Power's 640 megawatt gas-fired Uranquinty Power Station for an enterprise value of A$700 million. Babcock & Brown Power rose 18.18%.

Meanwhile, Beadell Resources slumped 30%. The company abandoned its plan to buy the Cracow gold mine in northern Queensland state from Newcrest Mining and Lion Selection Ltd due to its inability in completing an equity raising required to fund the purchase.

Takeover target Just Group rose 5.52% after the company said it would not disclose more on its earnings outlook for 2009 to bidder Premier Investments.

The New Zealand market closed higher on Friday for the first time in six sessions on bargain hunting. The market opened on a strong note and continued to make gains throughout the session. Turnover totaled just NZ$77.5 million.

The benchmark NZX50 Index advanced 63.49 points or 2.05% to close at 3,157.91, while the broader NZX All Capital Index gained 57.59 points or 1.84% to settle at 3,187.53.

Among economic news, the government of New Zealand recorded a budget surplus of NZ$5.36 billion for the eleven months through May, according to data released Friday by the Treasury Department. The surplus exceeded government forecasts of a NZ$2.57 billion surplus.

Among the top stocks, Telecom climbed 3.96%. The company said it plans to spend NZ$130 million on new Internet Protocol network and has signed a deal with France's Alcatel-Lucent. Meanwhile, Contact Energy gained 1.17% and Fletcher Building rose 3.38%. Contact Energy's 51% owner, Australia's Origin Energy has formally rejected a A$13.7 billion takeover bid from BG Group plc.

In the retail space, Pumpkin Patch soared 5.71%, The Warehouse Group soared 6.10% Hallenstein Glasson gained 2.40% and Michael Hill climbed 1.33%.

Among other notable stocks, Sky City climbed 4.65%, while Nuplex declined 1.01% and Steel & Tube eased 0.80%. Infratil advanced 3.39%. According to reports, the company is likely to put its 30% interest in Australia-based provider of renewable energy, Energy Developments, for sale. Energy Developments told the Australian Securities Exchange that it was undertaking a review of strategic options and has the support of Infratil.

Energy scrips TrustPower and Vector closed unchanged. Among dual-listed stocks, ANZ Banking gained 4.58%, AMP rose 3.07% and Westpac Banking closed up 4.08%.

Among other markets in the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 181 points or 0.85% to close at 21,424, Singapore's STI gained 12 points or 0.42% to end at 2893, Indonesia's Jakarta composite index added 28 points or 1.23% to settle at 2,315 and India's Sensex gained 360 points or 2.75% to end at 13,454. Meanwhile, Taiwan's weighted index closed down 166 points or 2.24% at 7,228.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com Copyright(c) 2008 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index