Asian Markets Close Mixed In Wake of the Nasdaq's Rise - A WSJ.com News Roundup
Shares closed mixed across the Asian-Pacific region Thursday following Wednesday's rise on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Wednesday in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite Index, whose many technology stocks have been suffering since late January, staged a one-day recovery of 2.62%, or 63.69 points, to end at 2491.41.
Tokyo stocks rose slightly, supported by modest gains in technology stocks following the Nasdaq's strong finish.
Taiwan shares climbed 3.7%, boosted by the Nasdaq's rally, while Indonesian stocks jumped 4%, buoyed by a deal between Telekomunikasi Indonesia and Indonesian Satellite to end major cross shareholdings in a number of companies.
But Hong Kong shares dropped as the market continued to focus on global concerns about the funding situation for telecom stocks and shrugged off the appointment of a new financial secretary.
China's major indexes fell after a top market regulator said authorities must continue to crack down on illicit stock trading even if that hurts market confidence.
South Korean shares also inched lower as the main index relinquished early gains amid late program selling spurred by heavy foreign selling in stock futures contracts.
In Singapore, stocks edged higher, lifted by buying in technology stocks, while shares in Malaysia dropped after a series of lower corporate earnings announcements.
Australian stocks slipped on weaker industrial blue chips and a string of corporate earnings announcements that failed to inspire investors.
Shares advanced in India, led by Hindustan Lever 's strong earnings announcement beating analysts' expectations.
Philippine stocks closed mixed as the market continued to consolidate and profit-taking weighed down most stocks, while Thai stocks finished almost unchanged as many investors awaited fresh leads to drive the market in either direction.
In dollar terms, around 6:00 a.m. EST, the Asian-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones Global Indexes was up 0.45 to 92.78 after falling 0.16 Wednesday. The Dow Jones World Stock Index slipped 0.08 to 207.27 after dropping 0.87 in the previous session.
Precious-metals and steel stocks led the Dow Jones Global Industry Groups, while major oil companies and tire-and-rubber shares were among
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