Asia Markets

Dikutip dari ADVFN Newsdesk untuk Saham Indonesia pada 15 April 2009

The major markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended mixed on Wednesday following a weaker closing on Wall Street, where the major indices declined on disappointing retail sales data and a weak producer prices report. While the markets in Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan ended lower, the markets in China, Hong Kong and Singapore recouped their early losses and ended in positive territory on expectations that China might announce another stimulus plan to help revive the economy, which is already showing signs of recovery.


In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index declined 1.13% or 99.72 points to close at 8,743 and the broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues lost 8.17 points or 0.97% to close at 835.

Exporters declined after the local currency strengthened against the U.S dollar to less than 99 yen per U.S. dollar. Canon dropped 2.57%, Sony lost 4.31% and Sharp fell 2.99%.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's biggest bank, declined 2.98%, Mizuho Financial fell 2.04%, Sumitomo Mitsui lost 2.45% and Resona Holdings edged down 1.64%. Brokerage Nomura Holdings lost 7.73% on profit taking.

Among exporters, construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu Ltd. said Tuesday that it would close down two domestic factories and a facility operated by a subsidiary to deal with ongoing tepid demand. The company's stock fell 5.62%.

In the oil sector, Inpex eased 0.55%, Nippon Oil lost 1.52% and Showa Shell fell 1.21%. Among trading houses, Mitsubishi Corp. ended down 0.66% and Itochu slipped 0.53%, but Sumitomo Corp. gained 0.64%.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 5.4 points, or 0.14% to close at 3,748, and the broader All Ordinaries index dropped 4 points, or 0.11% to 3,694.

Banking stocks ended weaker. Commonwealth Bank of Australia edged down 0.82%, ANZ Banking Group lost 1.81%, and National Australia Bank fell 3.07%. Macquarie Group slipped 1.43%, while Westpac Banking bucked the trend and edged up 0.17%.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton advanced 1.51% and Rio Tinto gained 1.08% ahead of its annual general meeting in London later today. Gold-related stocks ended mixed following a decline in gold prices in Sydney. Lihir Gold lost 0.33%, but Sino Gold advanced 5.31% and Newcrest Mining gained 1.31%.

Energy stocks declined on lower oil prices. Woodside lost 1.12%, Santos edged down 0.59%, and Oil Search fell 0.75%.

Hong Kong’s benchmark, Hang Seng Index recovered early losses and ended in positive territory with a gain of 0.57% or 88.46 points to close at 15,670.

Resource stocks and china-related stocks advanced, while mixed trading was evident among financial stocks.

Aluminum Corporation of China, or CHALCO, rose 7.18%, PetroChina advanced 2.19% and CNOOC gained 3.30%. China Unicom advanced 6.44%, China Mobile gained 4.80%, China Resources soared 8.99%, and China Shinhua added 3.61%.

Toy maker Li & Fung declined more than 10% on weak retail sales data in the U.S. Li & Fung is the biggest supplier of clothing and toys to Wal-Mart (WMT).

South Korea’s benchmark, the KOSPI Index lost 0.7% or 9.54 points to close at 1,333. Financial and auto stocks ended lower, while technology stocks revealed mixed sentiment.

Among the other major markets, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 8.88 points, or 0.35% at 2,536, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index advanced 1.49% or 23.40 points to 1,594 and Singapore's Strait Times Index added 8.97 points, or 0.47% at 1,906. Taiwan's Weighted Index, however, lost 17.49 points, or 0.30% at 5,875.