HK Rises, Japan Falls

Ivaylo
02 Nov, 2001
New York City

Asian shares closed mixed on Thursday, as the leading share index of Hong Kong soared to a fresh record close while the Nikkei 225 benchmark of Tokyo declined as Japanese large-caps such as Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. retreated on renewed worries over the pace of growth in the U.S. economy. Sentiment was also undermined by the lack of upward revisions in Japanese corporate earnings reports. Australia was the other decliner in the region despite strong support from mining stocks.

[R]7:15AM Asian stocks end mixed, HK advances while Tokyo dips.[/R]
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% to finish at 16350.02 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A retreat overnight on US market on lackluster economic data. The U.S. is a huge market for Japanese exports, and any downturn there is seen as having a big impact on Japan economy. Asahi Glass fell 3.2% after the glass maker Wednesday revised down its profit outlook for 2006.

Hong Kong stocks rallied to hit another fresh record high led by large-cap stocks HSBC Holdings and China Mobile. HSBC led the advance and rose 1%, while China Mobile jumped 3.7%, record closing highs for both stocks.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.5% and Taiwan Weighted Price Index rose 0.8%. Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.6%.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks Class A and B shares, finished down 0.2% at 1851.31.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 5409.40, easing back from Wednesday record close of 5416.40. BHP Billiton gained 0.1% and fellow miner Rio Tinto slipped 0.4%. Philippine stocks gained for the 10th straight session to a fresh nine-year high, buoyed by investor confidence in the economic outlook of the country. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 0.5% to 2721.78.

[R]6:30AM Europe falls on banks, miners, downbeat US economic data.[/R]
European markets were lower by mid morning on Thursday. The FTSE 100 in London shed 0.25 to 6,138.9, Frankfurt Xetra Dax fell 0.23% to 6,276.35, and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7% to 5,334.53.

Advancers

Bucking the weaker banking sector, Credit Suisse, the investment bank, gained 3.1% after the third-quarter net profits came in well ahead of expectations as strong trading income helped it on the way to a year of expected record earnings.

Altana, the German drugs and chemicals manufacturer, gained 3.2% after reporting a 19% rise in nine-month core earnings, beating expectations, thanks to a strong performance at its chemicals division.

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group, announced a 4.8% rise in third-quarter core sales at the top end of expectations. This outshone a disappointing fall in margins as the company spent heavily on branding and advertising to aid its recovery. The Amsterdam-listed shares gained 3.2%.

Decliners

Miners fell on the demand implications behind slowing growth in the US. Rio Tinto was off 1.4%, while Antofagasta slipped 1.5%.

The performance contrasted with that of domestic rival UBS, which on Tuesday reported a 21% fall in third-quarter profits, missing expectations. UBS shares fell 0.3%, while those of Deutsche Bank, which reported lower trading revenues on Wednesday, fell 0.2%.

[ Oil and gold

Oil prices fell slightly Thursday as the market reacted to a weekly U.S. report that showed a climb in crude oil stocks but a larger-than-expected drop in product inventories. Light sweet crude for December delivery fell 11 cents to $58.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the NYME.

Gold opened Thursday at a bid price of $614.90 a troy ounce, down from $615.20 late Wednesday.

Currencies

The euro rose to $1.2758 from $1.2756 yesterday. Against the euro, the British pound was at 66.88 pence from 66.85 pence yesterday. The U.K. currency was also at $1.9082 versus the dollar from $1.9095. The yen climbed to 116.77 against the dollar.

[R]5:00AM Gold rose to 8-week high Wednesday, as the dollar softened.[/R]
December gold ended at $619.30 an ounce, up $12.50, after peaking at $619.70 Wednesday at the NYME. December silver futures moved 20.5 cents higher at $12.475 an ounce. January platinum advanced $14.20 to close at $1,100.70 an ounce. December palladium ended $1.40 up at $324.10 an ounce. December copper contract plunged 10.45 cents to settle at $3.2410 per pound

December crude oil futures declined 2 cents to finish at $58.71 a barrel. December heating oil futures settled down 1.55 cents to $1.6515 a gallon. December gasoline closed 3.57 cents higher at $1.4630 a gallon. December natural gas gained 17.8 cents to end at $7.712 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed 0.40 cent higher at $1.0865 a pound. March futures on raw sugar in foreign ports settled 0.05 cent lower at 11.50 cents a pound.