China, HK End Higher, Japan Dips

Ivaylo
19 Jan, 2001
New York City

Asian markets closed mixed Friday, with indexes in Japan and South Korea declining as tech shares dipped in parallel with declines in tech stocks on US markets. The Chinese market rebounded from a two-day slump. In Japan, stocks ended lower on profit-taking in tech shares. In Australia, the stock market closed flat, while HK shares were led higher by index by large-caps.

[R]7:30 AM Asia finished mxed on Friday on weak technology stocks.[/R]
Asian markets finished mixed on Friday. The Nikkei Index in Japan finished the day 0.4% lower at 17,310. Stocks closed lower on profit-taking in tech stocks such as Tokyo Electron and Nikon, while banks declined on the decision of Bank of Japan to leave interest rates intact. Advantest shed 3.5%, Tokyo Electron lost 2.5% and Fujitsu slipped 2.1%. Nikon was off 3%, while Toshiba skidded 1.5%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index gained 0.3% to 20,328. HSBC rose 1.1%, after Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on the bank. China Mobile gained 0.4% ahead of the weekend release of its December operating data. South Korea Kospi Index shed 1.6% to 1361. Chip maker Hynix, which plunged 5.9% to a 6-month intraday low, ended 4.9% lower. Samsung Electronics also fell 1.7%.

The Shanghai Composite Index soared 2.7% to 2,832. Advances in banks on hopes of strong earnings results and a rebound in the property sector after recent sharp falls helped stop a two-day drop on the leading stock index of China. China Merchants Bank rose 5% and ICBC gained 1.1%.

Australian S&P/ASX 200 closed slightly higher at 5,673. Energy stocks responded to lower oil prices. Woodside Petroleum, the second-largest oil producer in Australia eased 2%. Santos also fell, closing 1.4% lower. On the other hand, the banking sector ended stronger, as National Australia Bank gained 0.5% and Westpac advanced 0.8%. Taipei closed 0.7% lower at 7,840.

[R]6:30 AM European stocks dropped as tech stocks countered gains in ither shares.[/R]
European markets were lower on Friday. By mid morning, London FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 6,194.5, Frankfurt Xetra Dax fell 0.3% to 6,667.46, and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2% to 5,544.36.

Decliners

The lower-than-expected full-year profit forecast of Lam hit chip-related stocks in Europe. Dutch company ASML Holding fell 1.2%, while German chipmaker Infineon shed 3.5%, and Franco-Italian group STMicroelectronics lost 1%.

Euronext fell 3.4%, left with few hopes of a counter bid to rival the 14 billion euros agreed merger with NYSE Group,

French utility Suez lost 1.6% in Paris and ThyssenKrupp also declined 0.8% after recent gains. It said provisional figures show that Q1 profit before tax rose to 1 billion euros, or $1.29 billion, from 425 million euros last year, after sales rose 12% to 12.2 billion euros.

Advancers

Vinci, the French public works and transport concessions company, gained 4.6% after Artemis, said it had acquired a 5.1% stake and was open for any opportunity. French building materials group Saint Gobain rose 2.3% after Credit Suisse raised its rating from neutral to outperform” and raised its price target.

Schneider Electric gained 2.2% after the French electrical products group announced that its Q4 sales rose 12.3% to 3.66 billion euros, helped by a good performance in Europe. Fiat gained 3.3% after UBS upgraded the stock from neutral to buy and lifted its price target.

Shares in Deutsche Börse, the German stock exchange operator, rose 2.8% following reports it was considering dividing its managment structure into three sectors, concentrating on internal growth rather than acquisitions.

Oil and commodities

Oil prices fell in Asian trading Friday after the U.S. Energy Department said U.S. crude inventories rose by the most in more than four years. Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped 8 cents to $50.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude on London ICE Futures exchange added just 2 cents to trade at $51.77 a barrel.

Gold headed for its second consecutive weekly gain in London as the dollar fell. Gold for immediate delivery rose $1.10, or 0.2%, to $628.80 an ounce in early trade in London. Other precious metals also gained including silver which was up 1 cent to $12.65, palladium added $1 to $340, while platinum dropped $6.50 to $1,151.50 an ounce.

Currencies

The euro was a little higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday. The 13-nation euro bought $1.2971 in morning European trading, slightly above its level of $1.2959 in New York late Thursday. The British pound slipped to $1.9716 from $1.9733. The dollar edged up to 121.29 Japanese yen, from 121.26 yen.

[R]5:00 AM Gold and silver declined Thursday on crude oil drop.[/R]
Most-active February gold sank $5.20 to close at $628.10 an ounce and March silver also dipped 20.5 cents to end at $12.685. April platinum reached its highest level since Dec. 1 at $1,176 an ounce. March palladium settled at $343.40, up 45 cents. The most-active March copper contract settled down 7.75 cents at $2.4920 per pound

Crude oil futures slumped to a fresh 20-month low, falling briefly below $50 a barrel after the Energy Department said U.S. stockpiles advanced by the most in more than four years. The front-month February light, sweet crude settled down $1.76 at $50.48 a barrel. February heating oil settled down 2.91 cents at $1.4707 a gallon. Gasoline lost 2.33 cents to close at $1.3553 a gallon. February natural gas gained 9 cents to finish at $6.324 per million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, March Arabica coffee futures settled down 1.85 cents at $1.1975 a pound, with May off 1.85 cents at $1.2295. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March settled down 0.05 cent at 10.71 cents a pound, with May off 0.02 cent at 10.82 cents.