Asian stocks fell for a third week, ending the regional benchmark’s worst first half in 16 years, as record oil prices dimmed earnings prospects and concern grew that credit market losses haven’t reached an end.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index lost 2.2 percent to 136.96 this week. It has fallen about 13 percent in the first six months of this year, its worst performance since a 23 percent drop in 1992. A gauge tracking consumer stocks led losses among 10 industry groups on the index.
TAIPEI
PHOTO: AFP
Taiwanese share prices are expected to extend losses next week with market sentiment dampened by recent steep declines, high oil prices and volatility on Wall Street, dealers said.
In the week to Friday, the TAIEX closed down 353.68 points or 4.48 percent at 7,548.76 after a 2.51 percent fall the previous week.
“The market is dominated by a bearish mood, with few able to be sure when Wall Street will stablise,” Concord Securities (康和證券) analyst Allen Lin said.
TOKYO
Japanese share prices slid on worries about weak US markets, high oil prices and a stronger yen which is bad for exporters, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index ended down 277.96 points or 2.01 percent at 13,544.36. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares declined 24.11 points or 1.79 percent to 1,320.68.
HONG KONG
Shares closed down 1.84 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 413.32 points to 22,042.35. For the week, the index fell 3.3 percent, while it is down 21 percent since the start of the year.
SYDNEY
Australian shares dropped 1.3 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed 70 points to end the day at 5,237.0 while the broader All Ordinaries was down 72.1 points at 5,349.4.
The Australian market tumbled 160.6 points, or 3.1 percent, on opening but clawed back much of the lost ground amid bargain-hunting.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed down 5.29 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 153.42 points at 2,748.43.
The Shanghai A-share Index lost 5.29 percent to 2,882.95, while the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 6.06 percent at 833.21.
The Shanghai B-share Index was down 4.05 percent to 209.12 and the Shenzhen B-share Index lost 4.58 percent to 471.21.
SEOUL
Shares closed 1.9 percent lower, dealers said.
The KOSPI index closed down 33.21 points at 1,684.45, after diving as much as 2.2 percent in the earlier session. The index fell about 3 percent this week.
SINGAPORE
Shares closed 0.84 percent lower, dealers said.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index fell 25.04 points to 2,955.91.
The benchmark index fell to an intraday low of 2,922.87.
MUMBAI
Indian shares plunged 4.3 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark Mumbai 30 share SENSEX index fell 619.6 points to 13,802.22, a 13-month low.
Also See: Jim Rogers tells investors not to 'give up' on China
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS