Asian Markets Finish Mixed

Ivaylo
22 May, 2006
New York City

The Nikkei shed 1.8%, although it advanced in early trading. Its gains remained limited, despite the abated concerns about U.S. inflation and the strength o yen against the dollar. Investors still worry about possible interest hikes and the unstable U.S. stocks. Elsewhere across the region, Hang Seng Index shed 2.5%, South Korea''s Kospi Index settled 2.5% lower and Australia''s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3%.

[R]Asian markets closed mostly down save for Singapore and Taiwan.[/R]
Asian markets closed mixed. The Nikkei shed 1.8% to close 15858. Japan shares canceled out early gains as a drop in crude oil and metal prices hit Sumitomo Metal, down 3.9% and other raw material makers, such as Showa Shell Sekiya, losing 3.5%. Some big exporters bucked the downtrend to some extent. Toyota was up 0.66% and Sony gained 1.38%. Commodity prices struck Hong Kong stocks, as Hang Seng Index lost 2.5% to finish at 15910, with mining companies leading the decliners. Lingbao Gold slumped 12.6% and Jiangxi Copper was down 8.7%. South Korea''s Kospi Index ended 2.5% lower at 1338.59, with Hyundai Motor shedding 5.3%. Singapore''s Straits Times Index advanced 0.7% and Taiwan''s Weighted Index gained 0.3%. Australia''s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% due to mining stocks dropping on diving metal prices.

[R]6:30AM European stocks incur losses on commodities and Asian weakness.[/R]
European markets slipped to a four-month low on Monday on commodity sell-off and Asian stocks giving up earlier gains. Banks led decliners as Deutsche bank slid 1.3% and Credit Suisse fell 1.8%. UBS also joined in to lose 2.4%. Oil companies lost too, as Statoil, the Norwegian oil company, fell 1.2% and Royal Dutch Shell shed 1.4%. Mining companies suffered heavily. Antofagasta was down 7.7% and Xstrata shed 1.4%. Mergers provided some respite with Alliance & Leicester, UK bank, gaining 6.1%, after an assessment by Credit Agricole, its potential buyer. In other news, Arcelor said it was in the process of reviewing Mittal Steel’s revised offer to decide on it.

Crude oil was trading 98 cents down at $67.55 a barrel at 0819 GMT after falling more than $1 to its lowest level since April 10. Brent crude was 84 cents lower at $67.85. Gold topped a high of $661.25 an ounce ahead of falling to as low as $643.00 ounce as fund selling speeded up. The U.S. dollar advanced against most other major currencies in European trading Monday. The euro bought $1.2753, down from $1.2772 late Friday in New York. The greenback traded at 112.49 yen, up from 111.66. The British pound traded at $1.8728 down from $1.8780.

[R]5:00AM Gold prices fell Friday on dollar strength and calmer market.[/R]
June gold dropped to a two-and-a-half week low, finishing down $23.40 at $657.50 an ounce on the NYME, well below its $732-an-ounce, 26-year high hit a week ago.Silver ended down 16 cents at $12.36 an ounce. July platinum settled $12.20 up on the day at $1,310 an ounce. June palladium fell down $20.70, to finish at $351.80 an ounce. The most-traded copper contract ended with a loss of 24.20 cents to $3.4690 per pound.

June crude oil was down 92 cents at $68.53 a barrel while gasoline finished 2.33 cents higher at $2.0384 a gallon. July Arabica coffee settled 1.5 cent down at $1.0065 a pound and raw sugar in foreign ports ended up 0.08 cent at 16.42 cents a pound.