Asian stocks fell this week, the third weekly decline in four, as concern the global recovery will falter caused commodity prices to drop and the yen to strengthen.
BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s biggest mining company, dropped for a fifth week after copper and oil prices slumped. Honda Motor Co, which makes 51 percent of its revenue in North America, tumbled 10 percent on concern a stronger yen will hurt the value of its overseas revenue. STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd, South Korea’s biggest bulk carrier, sank 11 percent as shipping rates declined.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index lost 2.1 percent in the five days to Friday, adding to last week’s 0.8 percent decline. That pared the measure’s record 28 percent in the three months ended June 30 on optimism the global economy is stabilizing.
“The market is finally returning its focus to the present, rather than looking for an eventual recovery,” said Masaru Hamasaki, a Tokyo-based strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co, which oversees US$14 billion. “The economic rebound won’t be rapid. Share prices are beginning to reflect that.”
The Asian stock benchmark, which plunged by a record last year as the global economy slipped into recession, has now climbed 43 percent since reaching a more than five-year low on March 9. Stocks on the gauge now trade at 22.8 times reported earnings, compared with 15 times at the market trough in March and 14.9 for the US’ Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to consolidate next week as investors remain sidelined, looking for cues from the quarterly results of firms on Wall Street, dealers said on Friday.
Investors turned hesitant after a mixed performance dominated US markets, which failed to give a clear indication for future movements, they said.
Falling oil prices have prompted investors to take a cautious attitude toward a global economic recovery as demand remains weak, they added.
As a recent strong showing has pushed the index to move closer to the 6,800-6,900 range, stiff resistance may emerge next week, while technical support is expected at around 6,600 points, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the TAIEX rose 104.46 points or 1.57 percent to 6,769.86 after a 3.12 percent increase a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$119.37 billion (US$3.62 billion), compared with NT$107.42 billion the previous week.
“Institutional investors have started to take profit and run. If the market tests the 6,800-6,900 range, it could be another good chance for institutional investors to cut more holdings,” Concord Securities (康和證券) analyst Allen Lin said.
Before US stock heavyweights report second-quarter earnings later this month, investors are reluctant to trade on a lack of fresh hints, Lin said.
“I expect the market will be locked in see-saw trading with any gains to be immediately offset by profit-taking,” Lin said.
Other markets on Friday:
TOKYO: Flat. The Nikkei-225 dropped 3.78 points, or 0.04 percent, to 9,287.28 from Thursday.
HONG KONG: Down 0.46 percent. The Hang Seng Index ended down 82.17 points at 17,708.42.
SYDNEY: Up 0.82 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 was 30.8 points higher at 3,794.1.
SHANGHAI: Down 0.29 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 9.10 points to 3,113.93.
SEOUL: Down 0.15 percent. The KOSPI lost 2.27 points to 1,428.62.
MUMBAI: Down 1.84 percent. The 30-share SENSEX fell 253.24 points to 13,504.22. Investors unwound positions ahead of the weekend, despite better-than-expected earnings from IT giant Infosys and higher industrial output, dealers said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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