Thai Shock For Asia

Ivaylo
19 Dec, 2006
New York City

Markets closed lower on Tuesday as Thai shares slumped more than 14% after the central bank of the country announced rules to discourage foreign funds inflows from boosting the local currency, the baht, any further. Tokyo stocks also closed sharply lower on financials while HK dipped on selling pressure. Resource stocks were mostly lower, pacing declines in crude-oil prices.

[R]7:30AM Asian markets plunged Tuesday on Thai cetral bank decision.[/R]
Asian markets finished lower Tuesday. Panic selling on the Stock Exchange of Thailand weighed the SET index down 14.8% to finish at 622.14. The Bank of Thailand on Monday unveiled its rigorous measures yet to restrict speculative inflows that have lifted the Thai currency, the baht, to a nine-year high. Starting Tuesday, all banks must hold in reserve for one year 30% of capital inflows that are not trade or services-related, or repatriation of Thai residents investments abroad, the bank announced.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% to 16,776.88. Financial stocks were hit the hardest from the correction. Nikko Cordial declined 14% after it was put on a watch list by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Mizuho Financial shed 1.6% and telecom and Internet services provider Softbank declined 3.6%. Japan Tobacco plunged 6.4% as investors took profits after the tobacco company formally announced Friday it would take over British cigarette maker Gallaher Group. Energy company Inpex Holdings dipped 1.6%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 1.19% lower at 18,964.55. Shares of PetroChina slipped 2.9%, while the largest offshore oil producer of China, CNOOC shed 2.2%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 1.8% to 9,068.65. Singapore Straits Times Index sank 1.6%. Australia S&P/ ASX 200 lost 0.6% and South Korean Kospi was off 0.3. Malaysia KLSE Composite declined 1.7% and Indonesia JSX Composite was down 1.6%., Taiwan Weighted Price Index canceled out earlier gains to finish 0.3% lower and China Shanghai Composite shed 0.2%.

[R]6:30AM Eurpean stocks slipped on Tuesday with tech stocks leading the deecline.[/R]
European markets were lower in early trading on Tuesday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index declined 0.4% to 6,221.10, the German DAX Xetra 30 index dipped 0.5% to 6,562.24 and he French CAC-40 index lost 0.6% to 5,497.33.

Advancers

Swisscom shares gained 0.6% following its statement that it will take 100% control of Swisscom Mobile, agreeing to buy 25% stake from Vodafone Group for $3.48 billion.

Genmab surged 16 % after GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay $2.1 billion for a stake in Genmab and rights to one of the cancer and arthritis treatments of the company.
Colruyt SA climbed 3.4 % to 154.1 euros. The biggest discount food retailer in Belgium raised its annual profit forecast after low prices and warmer weather helped to lift first-half sales.

Decliners

SAP shares declined 0.7% in Frankfurt after peer Oracle Corp reported higher second-quarter sales and profit overnight but also said that sales of new software licenses, which are a key indicator of future growth, advanced less than expected.

Mining stocks led declines. Vedanta Resources Plc, the largest copper and zinc producer of India, fell 3.9 % in London and BHP Billiton lost 1 %.

Shares in the London Stock Exchange shed 0.6% after it again recommended that shareholders reject the latest takeover bid from Nasdaq Stock Market.

Vodafone Group shares dipped 0.7% in London. ASML Holdings slipped 0.8% after it has agreed to buy closely held semiconductor-design group Brion Technologies Inc. for $270 million.

BP, the second-largest oil producer in Europe, dropped 0.5 % while Total, the regional third-largest, lost 1 %.

Oil and gold

Crude oil fell on signs mild weather will curb heating demand in the U.S., the world''s biggest oil consumer, and as inventories remained above seasonal averages. Crude oil for January delivery fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $61.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $61.83 in London. Brent crude for February settlement declined 47 cents to $61.66 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

Gold rose for the second day as the dollar fell against the euro, boosting the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment. Gold for immediate delivery in London rose as much as $1.40, or 0.2%, to $617.65 an ounce. It traded at $616.05 an ounce at 10:33 a.m. local time.

Currencies

The euro climbed the most in two weeks against the dollar after business confidence in Germany, unexpectedly surged in December. The euro rose to $1.3167 in London from $1.3098 late yesterday in New York. The European currency was at 155.27 yen, from 154.75 yen.

The pound rose against the dollar after an index of house prices held near a four-year high in November. Against the dollar, the pound climbed to $1.9616 at 10:20 a.m. in London from $1.9452 yesterday.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 118.02 yen on Tuesday, down from 118.19 yen from late Monday in New York.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver further their losses for a third session in a row.[/R]
Gold for February delivery finished down $1.20 at $617.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver declined 45.5 cents, or 3.5%, to end at $12.525 an ounce, while March copper prices were among the few gainers in metals trading with the contract ending at $3.0295 a pound, up 1.3 cents. March palladium advanced 70 cents to close at $324.95 an ounce but January platinum dropped $2.40 to end at $1,102.10 an ounce.

Oil ands gas stocks fell sharply Monday across the board, pushed down by plunging oil and natural gas prices. Crude oil for January delivery ended down $1.22 at $62.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January natural gas fell 33.4 cents, or 4.5%, to finish at $7.075 per million British thermal units after retreating to $7.04, the weakest levels of the contract since mid-February of 2005. January unleaded gasoline futures ended down 2.41 cents at $1.6622 a gallon and January heating oil shed 6.1 cents, or 3.4%, to close at $1.7207 a gallon.