TRD: Asian Markets End Mixed Amid Cautious Trading, Weak Commodity Prices
(RTTNews) - The markets in Asia ended mixed on Thursday with the markets in India, Indonesia, and Singapore ending in positive territory, while the markets in Australia, China, HongKong, South Korea, and Taiwan ended in negative territory on lower commodity prices, fresh concerns in Greece and profit taking. Mixed closing on the Wall Street in the previous session amid positive earnings as well as a slew of economic data and earnings from major companies including Microsoft Corp. later in the day in the U.S led traders to remain cautious and move to the sidelines.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei-225 Index dropped 140.96 points, or 1.27%, to 10,949, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was down 8.90 points, or 0.90%, to 978.
On the economic front, a report released by the Ministry of Finance revealed that the country posted a trade surplus of 948.9 billion yen in March, higher than the revised trade surplus of 649.6 billion yen reported for February. However, the trade surplus came in slightly below the economists' consensus estimate of 975.4 billion yen for the month. According to the report, exports surged an annual 43.5% to 6.004 trillion yen - slightly below forecasts for a 45.9% increase on year after the 45.3% annual gain a month earlier. Imports jumped 20.7% on year to 5.055 trillion yen - roughly in line with expectations for a 21.0% increase after the 29.5% annual expansion in the previous month.
Steel stocks ended in negative territory. JFE Holdings fell 1.88%, Nippon Steel Corp. plunged 2.29%, Sumitomo Metal Industries slumped 2.53%, Pacific Metals Co., shed 0.87%, Kobe Steel lost 2.73% and Nisshin Steel edged down 0.50%.
Banking stocks also ended in negative territory. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial shed 0.91%, Resona Holdings fell 2.02%, Mizuho Financial slipped 0.53% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial lost 1.17%.
Real Estate stocks also ended weaker on profit taking. Sumitomo Realty & Development shed 0.54%, Mitsui Fudosan slipped 0.62%, Mitsubishi Estate fell 0.82% and Heiwa Real Estate lost 0.69%.
Among the gainers, All Nippon Airways firmed up 0.33% on lifting of flight ban across Europe.
In Australia, the bench mark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 46.90 points, or 0.95% to close at 4,907, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,937, representing a loss of 43.70 points, or 0.88%.
On economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that new vehicle sales in the country fell a seasonally adjusted 2.7% month-on-month in March to 83,200 vehicles, compared to a 1.9% fall in the previous month.
Metals and mining stocks declined sharply following drop in commodity prices in the international market. BHP Billiton shed 1.22%, Rio Tinto fell 2.11%, Fortescue Metals plunged 3.42%, Gindalbie Metals lost 2.61%, Iluka Resources slipped 0.82%, Murchison Metals slumped 5.17%, Mineral Resource fell 1.62%, and Oz Minerals was down by 2.03%.
Oil stocks also ended weaker on lower crude oil prices. Woodside Petroleum edged down 0.06%, Santos fell 1.76%, Oil Search slipped 0.68% and Origin Energy lost 0.96%. Caltex Australia slumped 3.42% after the oil refiner revealed that profit for the first quarter increased 33%, but the near term outlook remains challenging
Gold stocks witnessed mixed trading. While Lihir Gold managed to end unchanged from previous close, Newcrest Mining shed 0.26%.
Banking stocks also ended in negative territory amid profit taking, concerns about global financial sector. ANZ Bank shed 0.59%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 0.89%, National Australia Bank lost 0.42%, and Westpac Banking fell 1.81%. Investment banker Macquarie Group also ended in negative territory with a loss of 0.79%.
Among retail stocks, Wesfarmers lost 2.54% after releasing a disappointing outlook for the future. Mixed trading was witnessed among the other retail stocks. David Jones gained 0.89%, Harvey Norman added 0.58% and JB Hi-Fi Ltd rose 0.94%. However, Myer Holdings slipped 0.32% and Woolworths shed 0.74%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Sang Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 55.99 points, or 0.26%, at 21,455, taking cues from other markets in the region, where lower commodity prices dragged the markets lower. Mixed closing on Wall Street in the previous session, and resurfacing of debt crisis in Greece also impacted market sentiment. Resource stocks ended in negative territory, as traders preferred to exercise caution ahead of US earnings.
The Indian market ended in positive territory, but well off the day's highs, led by Reliance Industries, and State Bank of India, after brokerage houses upgraded the stocks with positive comments and outlook. Stocks such as Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, ITC and HDFC also gained and lifted the indices. Concerns about wider-than-expected budget deficit in Greece, however, led to selling in late trading session, and limited the gains. The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 17,573.99, up 101.43 points or 0.58% and the Nifty settled at 5269.35, up 0.47% or 24.45 points.
Among the other major markets open for trading, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 33.79 points, or 1.11%, to close at 2.999 and Taiwan's Weighted Index slipped 11.84 points, or 0.15%, to close at 7,979. However, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite advanced 13.71 points or 0.47% to close at 2,926, and Singapore's Strait Times Index added 13.04 points, or 0.44%, to close at 2,980.
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