Asian stocks fell for the first week in three amid a deteriorating outlook for corporate profits and doubts over whether US stimulus measures will succeed in alleviating the financial crisis.
Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest brokerage, fell 17 percent in the week on share-sale plans and as US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he needed time to work out details of a bank-rescue plan unveiled on Tuesday. Sony Corp, which makes a quarter of its sales in the US, lost 7.8 percent in Tokyo. Electronics maker Pioneer Corp dropped 13 percent in Tokyo after it widened its full-year loss forecast.
“Investors are disappointed with the lack of clarity on the US bank-rescue plan,” said Daphne Roth, Singapore-based head of Asia equity research at ABN Amro Private Bank, which manages about US$27 billion of Asian assets. “We will see more earnings downgrades going into the next few months and that’s going to drag down Asian stocks at least till the end of the first half.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index slipped 2 percent to 81.75 in the past five days, following a 3.9 percent increase in the previous two weeks. The gauge is down 8.7 percent this year amid mounting signs the global recession is hurting corporate profits.
Taiwanese shares are expected to be volatile next week as the market moves closer to the nearest resistance level of around 4,700 points, dealers said on Friday.
Many investors would like to remain sidelined, watching closely how Wall Street performs amid caution over the effects of a massive US economic stimulus package, they said.
However, adequate liquidity is likely to lend support to the broader market, with foreign institutional investors continuing to rebuild their positions by targeting the bellwether electronics sector, they added.
The market is expected to pull back after jumping above the 4,700 point mark, while there may be a floor at around 4,300 to 4,400 points, according to dealers.
In the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 119.25 points or 2.67 percent to 4,590.50 after a 5.26 percent increase from a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$73.60 billion (US$2.16 billion), compared with NT$59.76 billion a week ago.
President Securities (統一證券) analyst Steven Huang said the bourse has staged a significant comeback after investors returned to the trading floor from the Lunar New Year holiday ending on Feb. 1.
In other regional markets on Friday it was:
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 1.7 percent. The KLCI added 15.24 points to close at 909.84.
JAKARTA: Up 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index rose 13.32 points to 1,338.74 in thin volume. MANILA: Down 0.2 percent. The composite index gained 4.44 points to 1,919.66.
MUMBAI: Up 1.78 percent. The SENSEX index rose 168.91 points to 9,634.74.
WELLINGTON: Flat. The NZX-50 rose 0.63 points or 0.02 percent to 2,750.77.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS