Japan Ends Lower, China, South Korea Higher

Ivaylo
06 Apr, 2007
New York City

Japanese stocks declined slightly on Friday, as real estate and auto shares fell in subdued trading. Markets in China and South Korea advanced, while markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia were closed for a holiday. South Korean stocks finished flat, with significant advances in shipbuilders and Korean Air countered by losses in large-cap technology and financial stocks.

[R]8:00AM Asian markets end mixed on Friday with Japan finishing lower.[/R]
Asian markets finished mixed on Friday. Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 6.64 points, or 0.04%, to end at 17,484.78. Real estate, retail and auto stocks dropped on profit-taking tracking recent gains. Mitsubishi Estate shed 2.21%, Aeon lost 3.68% and Honda Motor fell 0.95%.

In South Korea, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, closed up 2.11 points, or 0.1%, at 1,484.15. Shipbuilders kept gaining on the solid industry guidance and hopes for strong first quarter earnings. Hyundai Heavy Industry rallied 5.6% and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard surged 5.3%.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index, finished up 0.1% at 3,323.58, a record closing high for the fifth day in a row. The other main index, the Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 1.4% to 889.20, also a fifth record close in a row.

[R]5:00AM Wheat and corn rally, gold and silver advance on short covering.[/R]
CBOT May wheat ended 13.75 cents higher at $4.45 a bushel, while May corn advanced 6.75 cents to close at $3.66 a bushel. June gold closed $2 stronger at $679.40 a troy ounce, and May silver added 12 cents to finish at $13.74 an ounce. July platinum rose $7 to settle at $1,265.90 an ounce, while June palladium advanced $2.25 to finish at $356.40 an ounce. In trading of base metals, the most-active May copper fell 1.05 cents on profit-taking to end at $3.3770 per pound.

In Nymex energy trading, crude oil futures settled slightly lower. The front-month May crude oil settled 10 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $64.28 a barrel. While front-month May gasoline contracts rose 2.34 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $2.1288 a gallon, May heating oil fell 0.35 cents to finish at $1.8609 a gallon. Natural gas for May delivery rose 9.2 cents on position squaring and closed at $7.607 per million British thermal units.

Arabica coffee futures closed slightly higher as May-July rollovers dominated before notices start on April 20. May coffee ended 0.35 cents higher at $1.1090 a pound, and July coffee finished 0.30 cents stronger at $1.1375 a pound.