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Asia Markets Brief
Asian Resources Stocks Revive; Real Estate Slammed
Forbes.com staff 08.14.08, 9:37 AM ET
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India and, to a much lesser degree, Japan and mainland China suffered share reverses Thursday, but other markets in the region managed overall gains. Resources stocks picked up on a rise in crude and metals prices, while property stocks took a hammering in Japan on the bankruptcy of a major developer.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 retreated by 0.5%, breaking back below the 13,000 mark, at 12,956.80. The broader Topix subsided by 0.6%, to 1,238.93, a four-and-a-half-month closing low.
The real estate sector was weighed down by reaction to Urban Corp. (other-otc: URBCF - news - people )'s move to seek court protection on Wednesday, with debt of 255.8 billion yen ($2.3 billion). It was the biggest failure by a listed Japanese company in six years, and the latest in a string of collapses by Japanese real estate firms as banks rein in lending in the wake of the global credit crunch. Tokyu Land (other-otc: TOLAY - news - people ) cratered by 4.3%, to 468 yen ($4.27); Mitsubishi Estate (other-otc: MITEY - news - people ) dropped by 2.3%, to 2,375 yen ($21.65); and Mitsui Fudosan (other-otc: MTSFF - news - people ) slumped by 2.4%, to 2,265 yen ($20.66).
Financial stocks remained weak. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (nyse: MTU - news - people ) dropped 2.5%, to 820 yen ($7.48), after UnionBanCal (nyse: UB - news - people ) said the Japanese bank's unsolicited $63 a share offer for the 35% of the shares of its California subsidiary it did not already own was too low. (See "UnionBanCal Says No To Trans-Pacific Takeover") Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (other-otc: SMFJY - news - people ) dipped 1.9%, to 677,000 yen ($6,173.63), and Resona Holdings (other-otc: RSNHF - news - people ) fell 1.4%, to 130,300 yen ($1,187.95).
In the electronics world, Elpida Memory (other-otc: ELPDF - news - people ) plunged by 9.15%, to 2630 yen ($23.97), as prices for dynamic random access memory chips continue to fall worldwide, and Nintendo (other-otc: NTDOY - news - people ) shares gave back 2.8%, to 52,400 yen ($477.88).
Gainers were led by the marine transportation sector, and trading houses were higher thanks to the rise in crude oil and metals prices. Mitsui & Co. (nasdaq: MITSY - news - people ) rose 2.55%, to 1,810 yen ($16.49), and Marubeni (other-otc: MARUY - news - people ) gained 1.4%, to 669 yen ($6.10).
At the conclusion of Asian trading hours, the September contract for Nymex light sweet crude was up 86 cents, to $116.86.
The dollar gained a bit, to 109.41 yen, from 109.18 Wednesday evening.
South Korea's KOSPI index was up 0.6%, to 1,572.19. Despite announcing a share buyback, Kookmin Bank (nyse: KB - news - people ) gained only 0.7%, to 59,800 won ($57.58). POSCO (nyse: PKX - news - people ) shares advanced by 3.2%, to 481,000 won ($463.17). Interpark Corp. shares jumped by 9.5%, to 5,090 won ($4.90), on word that its affiliate Gmarket (nasdaq: GMKT - news - people ) would receive an investment from eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ). Korean Air Lines fell 2.2%, to 44,450 won ($42.80), after it posted its first quarterly operating loss in five years.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was up 0.5%, to 21,392.71. Exporter Li & Fung (other-otc: LFUGF - news - people ) skidded 7.6% lower, to 24.20 Hong Kong dollars ($3.10), after it posted disappointing first-half results on slowing demand in the United States.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4%, to 2,437.08.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%, to 4,981.10, boosted by a rebound in resource stocks. The broader All Ordinaries index improved by 0.9%, to 5,039.00. Sentiment was improved by a statement from a Reserve Bank of Australia official that the central bank would move pre-emptively to lower rates to support the economy.
In Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (nyse: TSM - news - people ) fell off by 1.1%, to 60.50 New Taiwan dollars ($1.93), after Philips Electronics (nyse: PHG - news - people ) said that it had sold the last of its stake in TSMC for $390 million. The Taiex weighted index moved forward by 0.5%, to 7326.07.
Elsewhere, the Straits Times index in Singapore edged up by 0.2%, to 2,816.66, and the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex index declined by 2.4%, to 14724.18.
-- Thomson Financial and the Associated Press contributed to this report . |
