The major markets Asia-Pacific mixed trading

Dikutip pada 16 April 2009 dari ADVFN Newsdesk untuk Saham Indonesia


The major markets across the Asia-Pacific region witnessed mixed trading on Thursday. After opening strongly in early trading on positive cues from Wall Street, the markets retreated after a government report revealed that the Chinese economy expanded at a slower pace of 6.1% during the first quarter. While the markets in Japan, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan managed to end in positive territory, the markets in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore reversed their early gains and ended in negative territory.


In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index added 12.30 points or 0.14% to close at 8,755, while the broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues slipped 0.38% or 3.21 points to close at 832.

Banking stocks declined the most, limiting the market gains. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's biggest bank, lost 3.07%, Sumitomo Mitsui declined 1.84% and Resona Holdings edged down 0.08%. Brokerage Nomura Holdings fell 2.51%. However, Mizuho Financial ended unchanged from the previous close. Exporters also came under selling pressure, while oil stocks showed mixed sentiment.

Drug maker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.'s consolidated operating profit for the year ended March 31, 2009 is expected to have fallen 31%, which is an improvement over its earlier projections, the Nikkei business daily said. The company's shares edged up 0.28%.

In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index added 28.2 points or 0.75% to close at 3,776 and the broader All Ordinaries index added 31.7 points or 0.86% to end at 3,726.

Telecommunications stocks advanced, with Telstra gaining 1.55% and Singapore Telecommunications rising 1.68%. Media stocks also ended in positive territory. Consolidated Media added 0.50% and News Corp edged up 0.17%. Fairfax remained unchanged from the previous close.

Banking and resource stocks ended mixed. In the retail sector, David Jones fell 0.91% and Harvey Norman lost 0.71%. However, Coles' owner Wesfarmers advanced 3.32%, and Woolworths edged up 0.35%.


In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI Index ended the trading session with a modest gain of 3.63 points or 0.27% to close at 1,337. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics ended down 0.68%, giving back part of Wednesday’s gains. Among the other technology stocks, Hynix Semiconductor declined 1.49% and LG Display edged down 0.32%, but LG Electronics advanced 0.97%.

Banking stocks acted as drags on the market. KB Financial Group declined 1.33%, Shinhan Financial fell 1.68% and Woori Finance lost 5.32%. Shipbuilding stocks moved to the upside, while auto stocks receded.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index reversed all of its early gain and ended the day lower at 15,583, down 86.63 points, or 0.55%.

China-related stocks led the declines in the market. China Resources lost 1.91%, China Overseas fell 1.34%, China Mercantile Holdings declined 4.42%, and China Shenhua shed 4.36%. Resource stocks ended on a mixed note. While Aluminum Corporation of China, or CHALCO, slipped 0.91%, CNOOC lost 3.20% and PetroChina fell 2.29%. However, financial stocks saw weakness.

Among the other major markets, China's Shanghai Composite Index ended lower by 0.08% or 1.92 points, at 2,534 and Singapore's Strait Times slipped 14.24 points, or 0.75% to 1,892. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index added 1.97% or 31.42 points to close at 1,625 and Taiwan's Weighted Index gained 121.98 points, or 2.08%, to close at 5,997.