HK, Singapore Set Records, Thailand Plunges

Ivaylo
03 Jan, 2007
New York City

Shares indexes in Hong Kong and Singapore closed at record highs on Wednesday as investors added to positions in the hope that bull market in 2006 will run into 2007. However, Thailand benchmark index plunged as trading resumed for the first time since Bangkok was rocked by a series of bombs on New Year''s Eve. Japanese stock exchanges remained closed for national holidays. In South Korea, IT and construction stocks led the decline.

[R]7:30 AM Asian markets close mixed with HK and Singapore higher.[/R]
Asian markets finished mixed on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closed the day 0.5% higher at 20,413. Large-caps which underperformed last year caught up. CKI Holdings, the biggest large-cap decliner last year, advanced 5%, and Cosco Pacific added 4%. Chinese auto manufacturers surged on expectations for M&A in the sector. Brilliance China Auto gained 15%, Dongfeng Group was up 10% and Geely Auto rose 4.9%.

Singapore Straits Times Index gained 1.7% to close at 3,038, a record high. The most active stock for the third consecutive session was Genting International, which advanced 20.7%. South Korean Kospi Index shed 1.8% to 1,409 as some brokerages reduced their fourth-quarter earnings forecasts for Samsung Electronics, which fell 2.2% and Hyundai Engineering & Construction also shed 3.9%.

In Australia, profit-taking brought shares down again, resulting in a swing of early gains as participants await direction from US markets and the London Metal Exchange. Profit-taking affected banks, insurers, property trusts, retailers and miners. Woodside Petroleum dipped 1.6% and Santos shed 1% on news of temporary shutdowns in response to Cyclone Isobel. BHP Billiton retreated 0.2% and Rio Tinto declined 0.3%.

Thailand SET Index plunged 3% to 659. Stocks tumbled 3.8% as a string of bombings over New Year in Bangkok further shook investor confidence.

[R]6:30 AM European markets gain slightly Wednesday on profit-taking.[/R]
European markets were higher on Wednesday. By mid morning, FTSE 100 in London edged 0.1% lower to 6,306.8, Frankfurt Xetra Dax advanced 0.1% higher at 6,685.56, while the CAC 40 in Paris moved fractionally higher to 5,619.35.

Advancers

In Switzerland ABB, an engineering company, added 2.3%, while logistics firm Kuehne & Nagel added 2.7 %, and private bank Julius Baer gained 1.9%.

Another Swiss company, Richemont, luxury goods retailer and watchmaker, and rival Swatch, both gained. Data published shortly before Christmas showed Swiss watch exports had increased by 13% in November, while growth over the 12 months to the end of November was 12.7%. Shares in Richemont, owner of the Cartier brand, advanced 2%, while Swatch, the biggest watchmaker in the world, gained 1.2%.

The financials were buoyed by recent market performances and helped boost many European bourses from early losses. UBS, the Swiss investment bank, gained 2.3%, Alpha Bank in Greece rose 1.6% and Intesa Sanpaolo, the newly-merged Italian bank, rose 1.4%.

Peugeot gained 1.7% after Exane BNP Paribas lifted its price target on the the French carmaker.

Decliners

Miners were among the worst hit by profit taking, while industrial metals groups were also lower. Arcelor Mittal was down 1.1%, while ThyssenKrupp declined 1.8%.

Gold and oil

Crude oil declined below $61 a barrel in New York as mild weather in the U.S. limited heating demand and traders speculated that fuel inventories rose last week. Crude oil for February delivery fell 84 cents, or 1.4%, to $60.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $60.30 a barrel at 11:46 in early trade in London. Brent crude traded at $60.06 on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

Gold for February delivery advanced $5.20, or 0.8%, to $643.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Currencies

The dollar on Wednesday advanced slightly against the euro, which had started 2007 up against the U.S. currency in thin trading. The 13-nation European currency purchased $1.3274, a slight slip from $1.3276 in late trading in New York on Tuesday. The British pound also shed a little to the dollar, trading at $1.9637, down from $1.9729. The dollar gained on the Japanese yen to 119.24 yen from 118.85 yen late Tuesday.

[R]5:00 AM Gold advanced Tuesday on CME Globex, Nymex closed.[/R]
Gold for February delivery advanced $4.30, or 0.7%, to end at $642.30 an ounce in electronic trading on CME Globex. Other metals markets were mixed in electronic trading, with March silver gaining 33 cents to finish at $13.265 an ounce and March palladium $1 higher to close at $339.50 an ounce, but January platinum slipped 30 cents to end at $1,139 an ounce while March copper lost 8.3 cents to $2.788 a pound.


Crude-oil futures started the New Year on slightly lower ground Tuesday, while natural-gas prices dropped 3%. Crude oil for February delivery declined 23 cents to close at $60.85 a barrel in trading on the CME Globex electronic platform, after hitting a high of $61.55. The February contract in natural-gas futures shed 4 cents, or 0.6%, to stand at $6.259 per million British thermal units following a low of $6.10. Natural-gas futures prices plunged 44% in 2006.