Asian stocks fell this week, dragging the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to its biggest weekly decline in three amid Japanese share sales, while companies including Sony Corp fueled profit concerns.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc sank 7.3 percent after announcing Japan’s biggest public sale of additional common shares. Hitachi Ltd, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average’s fourth-largest company by sales, plunged 14 percent after revealing its plan to sell securities. Sony Corp, which makes the PlayStation 3 game console and Bravia televisions, slid 5.5 percent as it pushed back profitability targets.
“What you’re seeing is very much Japan-related,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors, which holds US$75 billion in assets. “Everywhere else in Asia you have a very strong growth profile, but Japan has a lot of long-term structural issues that still need to be tackled.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.2 percent to 116.91 this week, the steepest weekly retreat since the five days to Oct. 30. Seven of the 10 heaviest drags on the gauge were Japanese shares, including Mitsubishi UFJ.
Japan’s TOPIX index slid 3.2 percent, extending its drop to a fourth week. The gauge has fallen 2.4 percent this year, making it the only loser among the world’s 10 biggest stock markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The KOSPI Index jumped 3.1 percent, breaking a five-week losing streak.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to stay in a narrow range in the upcoming week amid concerns over further Wall Street volatility, dealers said on Friday.
Large-cap electronic firms may remain weak as investors fear US high-tech stocks will suffer more declines on uncertainty over the industrial outlook, they said.
Sentiment has turned cautious ahead of the scheduled release of third-quarter economic data on Thursday, which will provide a clearer picture of the local climate, they added.
The market is expected to encounter heavy pressure as it moves closer to 7,800 points next week, while any downside pressure may be cushioned at around 7,600, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the TAIEX rose 17.34 points, or 0.23 percent, to 7,682.97 after a 2.71 percent increase a week earlier.
Other markets on Friday:
SINGAPORE: Up 0.10 percent from Thursday. The Straits Times Index added 2.75 points to 2,761.54.
BANGKOK: Down 0.74 percent from Thursday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand fell 5.17 points to 695.25.
KUALA LUMPUR: Down 0.18 percent from Thursday. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 2.29 points to 1,274.36.
JAKARTA: Up 0.75 percent from Thursday. The Jakarta Composite Index rose 18.57 points to 2,487.36.
MANILA: Down 0.47 percent from Thursday. The index lost 14.57 points to 3,068.73.
MUMBAI: Up 1.41 percent from Thursday. The 30-share SENSEX rose 236.2 points to 17,021.85.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS