Japan Leads Asian Decline

Ivaylo
06 Sep, 2006
New York City

Asian shares finished mostly lower Wednesday, as Japanese stocks were hit by profit-taking, and HSBC Holdings pushed Hong Kong stocks lower on worries index funds will sell the bank ahead of a change in the Hang Seng Index. Australia declined too after the government released figures showing the economy had grown at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter. Shanghai Composite Index bucked the downtrend and closed higher.

[R]7:15AM Japan falls on profit-taking, HK down on HSBC fears.[/R]
Asian markets were broadly lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 Average in Japan slipped 0.6% to 16284.09. Profit-taking pushed stocks lower, with Internet firms Yahoo Japan and Softbank and paper makers such as Oji Paper leading the decliners. Yahoo Japan and Softbank were under pressure after brokerage firm Credit Suisse assigned its lowest underperform investment rating to the companies. Yahoo Japan fell 3.9% and Softbank tumbled 5.6%, while Oji ended 3.2% lower.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index shed 1.03% to close at 17258.51. Shares declined on blue-chip HSBC, on worries that index funds will sell the bank before changes in the Hang Seng Index Monday. China Mobile sank 1.9% as traders judged a rally which took the blue chip to a five-year high Monday may have been overdone. Hutchison Whampoa lost 0.7% on concerns about extended losses at its third generation cell-phone networks in Europe.

South Korea Kospi Index declined 0.31% to 1357.01. Tech stocks led shares lower as program selling was sparked off after four straight days of increases. Australia S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.71% to 5113.80. Astonishingly weak GDP data and negative technical factors caused a bearish reversal in the stock market. In Taipei the market ended 0.69% lower at 6688.40. Stocks finished lower, as political uncertainty led to profit-taking. Shanghai Composite Index was the only major index to close in the green, edging up 0.5% to end at 1672.12.

[R]6:30AM European shares declined slightly Wednesday on weaker autos.[/R]
European markets were lower by mid-morning on Wednesday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index shed 0.2% at 5,972, the German DAX Xetra 30 index lost 0.2% at 5,874, the French CAC-40 index declined 0.1% at 5,167. Peugeot led the decliners, shedding 1.2%, and DaimlerChrysler lost 0.5%, after Lehman Brothers downgraded both companies to equal-weight and cut the broader European car sector to neutral.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML jumped 2.7% following its statement that it expects third-quarter unit orders to be substantially higher than previously indicated. IT consulting company Atos Origin advanced 2.2%, after it reported that its preparing for profit and growth to rebound in 2007, after it posted a lower first-half profit. Hotels owner Accor advanced 0.8% as its first-half net profit climbed a stronger-than-forecast 54%.

U.S. light crude oil declined 52 cents to $68.08 a barrel, having fallen as far as $67.77 a barrel earlier this week, its lowest since May 22. Gold traded at $637.0 an ounce on Wednesday, up $8.10 an ounce from Tuesday's close of $628.90.

The euro advanced slightly against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after falling the day before. In early European trading, the euro bought $1.2815, up slightly from $1.2812 the night before in New York. The dollar gained to purchase 116.23 Japanese yen, up from 115.93 the day before, while the British pound fell slightly to $1.8940 from $1.8943 in New York.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver futures rose on Tuesday on kick off of jewelery season.[/R]
At the NYME, the top-traded December gold advanced $14.30 at $646.90 a troy ounce on Tuesday. The December silver contract gained 7 cents at $13.14 an ounce. October platinum rose $24.70 higher at $1,279.50 an ounce and December palladium ended the session $5.80 higher at $355.40 an ounce after having reached a monthly high of $356 an ounce. The December copper futures ended with a gain of 16.35 cents to $3.6245 per pound.

The October crude oil contract slumped 58 cents at $68.60, the front-month contract's lowest close since May 19. October gasoline also slipped 8.79 cents to $1.6465 a gallon. October heating oil fell 3.11 cents to $1.9363 a gallon, while October natural gas closed 16.2 cents higher at $6.039 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures advanced, as funds and small speculators bought, spurred by strength in the London robusta market and worries about Brazil's weather ahead of next-crop flowering. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for October gained 0.10 cent at 11.49 cents a pound.