HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed yesterday, with Japan’s Nikkei bouncing back from the previous day’s losses while the euro weakened further against the yen and the dollar.
The Dow on Wall Street marked up yet another record high, but with few catalysts to drive trade, investors stayed on the sidelines.
Tokyo added 0.50 per cent, or 74.68 points, to finish at 15,069.48 and Seoul rose 0.14 per cent, or 2.87 points, to 2,014.67 while Shanghai added 0.12 per cent, or 2.42 points, to 2,054.95. However, Sydney eased 0.29 per cent, or 15.65 points, to 5,454.
Analysts said dealers were taking a breather after a recent advance on global markets fuelled by a batch of upbeat data, including on the United States jobs, Japanese economic growth and Chinese manufacturing and trade.
The main focus for the rest of the week will be on the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting that concludes on Friday, with investors hoping for a lead on whether it plans to unveil any fresh stimulus measures for the economy.
In other markets:
q Mumbai fell 0.43 per cent, or 109.80 points, to end at 25,473.89 points. TTK Prestige fell 8.97 per cent to 3,752.40 rupees, while HDIL lost 8.43 per cent to 100.45 rupees.
q Bangkok lost 0.37 per cent, or 5.48 points, to 1,463.71. Total Access Communication dropped 4.94 per cent to 115.50 baht, while True Corporation rose 5.59 per cent to 8.50 baht.
q Jakarta ended up 0.52 per cent, or 25.86 points, at 4,971.95. Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food gained 2.53 per cent to 2,435 rupiah, while Telkom slipped 1.78 per cent to 2,480 rupiah.
q Taipei was flat, edging up 7.43 points to 9,229.8. TSMC rose 0.4 per cent to T$125 while HTC fell 2.41 per cent to T$141.5.
q Wellington was marginally lower, edging down 0.25 points to 5,179.15. Telecom was unchanged at NZ$2.685 and Fletcher Building slipped 1.30 per cent to NZ$9.12.
q Manila climbed 0.46 per cent, or 31.20 points, to 6,809.18. BDO Unibank gained 1.59 per cent to 92.65 pesos while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co rose 0.53 per cent to 85.85 pesos. AFP
