Asian Markets End Lower On Profit Taking; Banks Decline

(RTTNews) - The markets across Asia ended in negative territory on Tuesday as traders preferred to take profits and move to the sidelines ahead of key economic data slated for release later in the U.S. Comments from the Chinese central bank warning commercial banks to restrain from lavish lending also impacted market sentiment.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 96.10 points, or 1.01%, to 9401.58, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues declined 10 points, or 1.1%, to 829.

On the economic front, releasing the latest Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, the Bank of Japan revealed that the country's economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although the momentum of self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand remains weak. Last month, the central bank said Japan's economy has started to pick up.

Light sweet crude oil futures for January delivery ended at $77.70 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.14 per barrel from previous close at $77.56 a barrel in New York on Monday.

After opening in positive note in early session on positive cues from the U.S, the stocks slipped back unable to move forward on lack of buying interest amid concerns about deflation and sale of shares by banks and other corporates to raise capital.

Banks dragged the indices into negative territory. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 4.44%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 2.76%, Mizuho Financial shed 1.90%, and Resona Holdings slumped 6.04%.

Automotive stocks also ended weaker on stronger local currency. Toyota Motor declined 1.74%, Nissan Motor lost 1.29%, Mazda Motor fell 3.17% and Mitsubishi Motors slipped 2.54%.

Trading companies also ended in negative territory. Toyota Tsusho declined 1.59%, Mitsubishi Corp. shed 0.42%, Marubeni Corp. slipped 0.22% and Sumitomo Corp. edged down 0.12%.

Shipping stocks also ended in negative territory. Mitsui OSK Lines fell 2.50%, Kawasaki Kishen Kaisa lost 3.24% and Nippon Yusen declined 2.36%.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 32.00 points, or 0.68% to close at 4,685, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,708, representing a loss of 31.00 points, or 0.65%.

On the economic front, private sector group Conference Board released the economic indices for September. According to the Board, the Leading Economic Index increased 0.3% in September, and the Coincident Index advanced 0.1%. The Leading Index, which is a barometer of economic activity in the coming six months, increased for the fourth straight month. The Board, however, noted that there were large downward revisions to the index for the previous five months.

Profit taking dragged the indices lower after stocks opened higher on Wall Street cues where the major averages ended sharply higher in the previous session.

Among metals and mining stocks, BHP Billiton slipped 0.57%, Rio Tinto fell 2.56%, Fortescue Metals shed 2.82%, and Oz Minerals lost 2.75%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among oil related stocks. Santos Ltd lost 1.60%, Oil Search shed 0.85% and Origin Energy slipped 0.69%. However, Woodside Petroleum bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with a gain of 0.80%.

Gold related stocks also ended mixed. Sino Gold Mining added 0.50% and Newcrest Mining advanced 0.54%. However, Lihir Gold ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.08%.

Banks ended in negative territory on profit taking. ANZ Bank slipped 0.05%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 0.11%, National Bank of Australia fell 1.44% and Westpac Banking declined 0.69%. Investment banking company Macquarie Group also lost 0.58%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among retail stocks. David Jones gained 0.52%, Harvey Norman advanced 0.67% and JB Hi-Fi Ltd climbed 0.96%. Woolworths remained unchanged from previous close. However, Wesfarmers bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.71%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended sharply down in the negative territory with a loss of 348.25 points, or 1.53% at 22,423, dragged down by banking stocks in late trading session after the Chinese Central bank warned the commercial banks to exercise restraint in lavish lending. Weak trading across other markets in the region amid profit taking also impacted sentiment, despite positive cues from Wall Street. Of the 42 components in the index, as many as 39 stocks ended in negative territory. Bank of China was the major loser, having lost 3.95% on huge volumes.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 12.63 points, or 0.78%, at 1,606, as traders continued to book profits for the second day in succession and moved to the sidelines ahead of key economic data in the U.S later in the day. Positive closing in the overnight US market led the market open in positive territory, but selling pressure, especially from foreign institutional investors dragged the market into negative territory. Almost all the sectors witnessed profit taking.

After a two-day rally, the Indian market slipped on Tuesday, as traders took profits in metal, FMCG and oil/gas stocks ahead of the expiry of current month derivative contracts on Thursday. Weak global cues before the release of crucial economic reports in the U.S also kept market undertone subdued. The BSE Sensex closed at 17,131, down 49 points or 0.29% and the S&P CNX Nifty fell 13 points or 0.25% to 5,091.

Among the other major markets in the region, China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped 115.14 points or 3.45% to close at 3,224, Singapore's Strait Times Index lost 17.90 points, or 0.64% to close at 2,780 and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index edged down 9.53 points, or 0.38%, to close at 2,472. However, Taiwan's Weighted Index bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with a gain of 27.41 points, or 0.36% at 7,742.

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