Asian markets close mixed; Nikkei surges 3%

(RTTNews) - The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mixed after Wall Street finished in negative territory overnight amid a rebound in crude oil prices and some disappointing news within the pharmaceutical sector. Japan's Nikkei index surged nearly 3%. Oil traded slightly below $131 a barrel in late Asian deals after gaining $2.1 to finish at $131.04 a barrel on Monday. The greenback held steady on Tuesday after falling overnight.

The dollar traded in the mid 106-yen levels in late Tokyo deals, but the South Korean won finished higher at 1,017.6 a dollar and the yuan closed firmer at 6.8217 a dollar on the over-the-counter market. The Australian dollar closed slightly higher at US$0.9761-0.9764 ahead of inflation data on Wednesday and the kiwi ended the local session down at US$0.7613.

The Japanese market closed sharply higher on gains in major banks, as worries about the U.S. credit market crisis eased. The key Nikkei index settled above the 13,000 mark for the first time since July 14. The market started off firm after Monday's holiday, encouraged by Bank of America's announcement of better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, but lost its direction when futures and options trading was suspended due to a computer glitch. Buying gained momentum after TOPIX futures and options, government bonds futures and options resumed trading in the afternoon.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 381.26 points or 3% at 13,184.96, following Friday's 84.25-point fall. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues rose 35.31 points or 2.8% to finish at 1,287.74.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that the all industry activity index rose 0.4% in May from the previous month, as strong gains in industrial output more than offset weaker spending in the services sector. In April the index rose 0.8%. On year-over-year basis, the index fell 0.5% in May following a 0.3% increase in April.

Meanwhile, supermarket sales fell for the third straight month in June as consumers limited their spending due to heightened worries of economic slowdown and risks of inflation. Sales adjusted for the number of stores decreased 0.9% on year in June. However, Japan's June convenience store sales rose 4.2% on year.

Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumped 3.7%, Mizuho Financial Group gained 3.3% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 3.2%.

Oil-related issues gained ground following a four-day slide. Mitsubishi Corp jumped 5.2%, Nippon Oil advanced 4.6% and oil field developer Inpex Holdings rose 2.2%. Automakers also advanced. Toyota Motor surged 5.6% and Honda Motor soared 5.3%.

High-tech issues reversed early losses, with Tokyo Electron gaining 1% and Consumer electronic giant Sony advancing 1.6%. Toshiba Corp. edged up 0.1%.

Shin-Etsu Chemical surged 5.2% after the company announced that its first-quarter net profit rose 13% from a year earlier due to demand for its silicon wafer products.

The South Korean market closed lower on profit taking. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI dropped 1.69 points or 0.11% to end at 1,561.23, recovering from the day's low of 1,549.

Tech shares closed lower, with bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 1.5% and LG Electronics plunging 3.1%. Hynix Semiconductor dropped 1.9%.

Shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries slipped 0.3% and Samsung Heavy Industries edged 0.3% down. Builders rebounded, with industry leader Daewoo Engineering & Construction surging 3.3%.

Financial sector finished mixed. Top lender Kookmin Bank gained 1.4%, but non-life insurer Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance slipped 0.3%.

The Chinese market closed lower, led by oil-related stocks on the back of a rebound in crude oil prices overnight. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 9.57 points or 0.53% to finish at 2,846.

Oil refiner Sinopec dropped 2.1% and index heavyweight PetroChina lost 1.2%. Steelmaker Baoshan Iron & Steel slipped 0.2%, Xinjaing Bayi Iron & Steel shed 2.0% and Shougang Group declined 1.9%.

Aluminum smelter Shanxi Guanlu plummeted 4.9% after the company said that its first-half profits fell as much as 60% from a year ago because of a power shortage in winter and higher raw-material and fuel costs.

Among gainers, Shandong Gold rose 1.9% and Zhongjin Gold jumped 3.1%. Jiangxi Copper gained 0.4%.

The Hong Kong market closed flat after a volatile trading session. The benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 5.42 points at 22,527.48, after gaining 6.4 pct in the previous four trading sessions.

Lenovo Group fell over 5% on news that IBM is selling another 116.2 million shares of the Chinese personal computer in a placement deal. Semiconductor Manufacturing International surged nearly 11% after a report that China's state-owned Datang Telecom Technology may buy 20% stake in the Chinese chipmaker.

Among major blue chips, China Mobile rose 0.4%, HSBC declined 0.1%, China Construction Bank added 0.6% and China Life slipped 0.2%. CNOOC gained 0.7%.

The Australian market closed flat, recouping early losses. The market started off weak on profit taking following Monday's steep gains, but regained lost ground as buying resumed at lower levels. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 6.2 points or 1.1% at 5,005.6, while the broader All Ordinaries edged up 0.5 points to finish at 5,075.9.

The market had little to digest in terms of economic news on Tuesday.

Among banks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped 0.8%, National Australia Bank and Westpac fell 2.4% each and ANZ plunged 3.9%. Takeover target St George lost 2.2% and investment bank Macquarie Group tumbled 3.1%.

Citigroup slashed its fiscal 2009 earnings per share estimates for local banks by up to 12%, citing a vicious cycle of tightening global credit availability, slowing economic growth and rising bad debts.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton rose 2.1% and its rival Rio Tinto advanced 1.9%. Gold miner Newcrest Mining jumped 3.2% and Lihir Gold surged 3.6%. Energy stocks closed higher, with Woodside gaining 1.2%, Santos adding 2.1% and Oil Search edging up 0.4%.

Property developer Mirvac Group closed down 5.7% after the company forecast operating earnings to fall in the current fiscal year. Among other property developers, Westfield Group rose 1.3%, while Stockland declined 0.8% and GPT Group tumbled 2.7%.

Orica was in a trading halt after the company said that it would raise about A$900 through a rights issue and spin off its consumer products division to help fund growth and reduce debt.

The New Zealand stock market closed lower, ending a four-day winning streak. The market started off sharply lower, but recovered to finish slightly below the flat line as bargain hunting set in at lower levels.

The benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 4.41 points or 0.14% at 3,143.91 and the broader NZX All Capital Index closed flat at 3,173.92.

Top stock Telecom fell 1.5%, while Contact Energy edged up 0.4% and Fletcher Building closed unchanged. In the retail sector Hallenstein Glasson and Pumpkin Patch added 0.7% each and The Warehouse gained 0.3%, but jeweler Michael Hill plunged 3.8%. Energy company Vector gained 0.5%, but TrustPower dropped 0.5%.

Among other major losers, ANZ plunged 2.9%, Goodman Fielder tumbled 3.4%, Rakon fell 2.3% and Steel & Tube Holdings slumped 4.4%.

Top gainers included SkyCity Entertainment 3.4%, Pike River Coal 3.0%, Property For Industry 2.6%, New Zealand Exchange 3.7% and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare 2.6%.

Other Asian markets:

Taiwan's Taiex closed down 0.3% at 7,065; Singapore's STI closed down 1% at 2,890; Malaysia's KLCI closed up 0.6% at 1,109; and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index closed up 0.8% at 2,212. India's Sensex closed up 1.8% at 14,104.

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