Nikkei Down, HK Up

Ivaylo
29 May, 2006
New York City

Hong Kong''s benchmark Hang Seng Index edged up after briefly probing the 16000 level. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index benchmark finished 0.2%, down and in Australia, market closed at its day''s high, putting together a second dayin a row of gains in response to the Friday rally. The South Korea

[R]7:30AM Japanese Nikkei ends lower, while other markets advance.[/R]
Asian markets finished mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell later to close down 55.08 points, or 0.34%, at 15915.68 points. Decliners included technology stocks, among them were Advantest declining 2% and Tokyo Electron, reporting 2.4% fall. Steel stocks advanced hoping for a new global realigning of the sector, led by Arcelor merger with Severstal. Nippon Steel gained 0.7% and JFE Holdings advanced 1.7%. Nissan also closed 1.5% higher. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced 68.67 points, or 0.4%, to end at 15963.77. Gainers were led by Cosco Pacific, soaring 3.9% and China Unicorn, a mobile operator, which climbed 3.6%. Singapore’s benchmark the Straits Times Index declined 5.11 points, or 0.2%, at 2439.91 points. Property stocks were among the big losers. CapitaLand plummeted 7.2% on a high volume of 38.4 million shares and Keppel Land plunged 7.4%. South Korean stocks finished slightly higher due to large-capitalization shares, which have underperformed recently, continuing to rebound. The South Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, ended up 0.5%, or 6.79 points, a 1329.22. Some large-cap counters gained ground, such as Kookmin, which finished 1.2% up. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 1.1% to a six-session high of 5109.5 after plunging to a 10-week low of 4976.8 last week. BHP Billiton led the gainers advancing 3.2%.

[R]6:30AM European shares decline on weak trading.[/R]
European markets traded lower in morning session. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax fell 0.5% to 5,757.02 and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.6% to 5,015.54. Looking at the corporate news, Arcelor shares gained 1.7% in view of its proposed merger with the Russian Severstal, in an attempt to thwart Mittal Steel aggressive bid. Other stocks were also down. Michelin, the French tire maker, was down1.2% due to the death of its president in a boating accident, while GNP Assurances, the French insurer, advanced 2.4% after being raised to “sell’ from “hold” by Societe Generale.

The dollar lost against the euro. The euro bought $1.2745, slightly higher from the $1.2721 it bought late Friday in New York. The British pound also strengthened, up to $1.8595 from $1.8558. The dollar bought 112.32 Japanese yen, down from 112.70 at the end of last week.

[R]5:00AM Gold prices advance prior to Memorial Day.[/R]
June gold finished up $2.50 to $651 a troy ounce in New York. July silver added 13 cents to $12.73 an ounce and July platinum settled up $3.10 to $1,298.10 an ounce. June palladium closed $3.10 up to $355.10 an ounce. Copper settled 10.75 cents higher at $3.8150 per pound.

The July crude oil contract put 5 cents up to $71.37 a barrel after trading in the range of $70.86 and $71.90. For the week, crude futures finished more than 4% higher. June gasoline climbed 3.24 cents to close at $2.1368 a gallon. On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures sank to fresh 5-month lows. July closed 0.55 cent lower at 98.10 cents a pound while September declined 0.55 cent to $1.01 a pound. Raw sugar in foreign ports futures for July finished down 0.36 cent at 15.88 cents a pound while October declined 0.31 cent to 16.14 cents a pound.