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Asian markets mostly slipped yesterday, following a negative lead from Wall Street after a disappointing set of corporate results and soft economic data. |
The dollar was subdued against the yen after seeing a sell-off in New York in response to the latest US figures, while its Australian counterpart also continued to struggle.
Tokyo ended flat, dipping 12.74 points to 15,734.46 and Sydney also closed almost unchanged, edging down 3.2 points to 5,305.9, while Seoul fell 0.66%, or 12.84 points, to 1,944.48.
Shanghai lost 0.93%, or 18.75 points, to close at 2,004.95 despite a surge of more than 40% for the market’s first debut listing in more than a year.
But Hong Kong was 0.64% higher, adding 146.94 points to 23,133.35.
Malaysia’s stock market was closed yesterday for a public holiday.
In other markets, Bangkok lost 0.47%, or 6.07 points, to 1,295.41; Airports of Thailand dropped 3.01% to 161baht, while Electricity Generating added 2.02% to 126.50.
Singapore closed 0.22% higher, or 6.89 points, at 3,147.33; Singapore Telecom was unchanged at Sg$3.52 and Singapore Airlines climbed 0.10% to Sg$10.09 a day after announcing an alliance with Air New Zealand to expand services to both countries and boost their global reach.
Jakarta ended down 0.01%, or 0.26 points, at 4,412.23; Bank Negara Indonesia lost 0.70% at 4,275 rupiah, while tobacco company Gudang Garam gained 0.45% at 45,000 rupiah.
Taipei fell 0.19%, or 16.11 points, to 8,596.0; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 0.47% to Tw$107.5 but computer maker Acer slipped 0.78% to Tw$19.0.
Wellington fell 0.56%, or 27.34 points, to 4,893.95; Air New Zealand was down 0.20% at NZ$1.69, while Telecom tumbled 2.9% to NZ$2.36.
Manila was flat, edging up 4.85 points to 5,987.09; Alliance Global rose 3.33% to 26.40 pesos and Megaworld Corp climbed 1.73% to 3.52 pesos, while BDO Unibank ended 0.21% up at 72.25 pesos.
The US Labor department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell 2,000 last week to 326,000, indicating the jobs market is recovering slowly.
Last week it released data showing the economy added less than half the number of jobs expected in December, raising fears about the US recovery.
Also the Labor department said US consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from November, and core prices—stripping out volatile energy and food prices—were up just 0.1%.
The yearly rate was 1.5%, and the core rate was up 1.7%, below the Federal Reserve’s 2.0% target.
Adding to the downbeat sentiment was a string of weak US earnings releases. US electronics retailer Best Buy plunged 28.6% after saying November-December same-store sales were 0.8% lower than the previous year’s holiday shopping season.
Citigroup took a hit after earnings came in well below those forecast, while chip giant Intel also sank in after-market trade as it said net profit last year fell 13%.
On Wall Street the Dow fell 0.39% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.13% a day after hitting a record high but the Nasdaq edged up 0.09%.
The dollar was unable to rebound against the yen in Tokyo from its losses in New York on Thursday caused by the downbeat US results.
In late afternoon trade the greenback bought 104.34 yen, compared with 104.37 yen late in New York and well down from the 104.60 yen level touched earlier Thursday in Asia.
The euro was at 141.97 yen against 142.11 yen while it also fetched $1.3600, compared with $1.3615.
The Australian dollar fetched 88.10 US cents, stuck at three-year lows after seeing a sell-off on Thursday following another set of disappointing jobs figures out of Canberra.
It had fallen to as low as 87.77 cents at one point after the jobs data.
In Shanghai, Neway Valve (Suzhou) Co—the first stock to list in China for 14 months—leaped 43.49% on its debut after authorities ended a freeze on initial public offerings (IPOs).
The company is among the first batch of five announcing last month that regulators had given the green light for share offers, following a suspension of approvals in November 2012.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February rose 37 cents to $94.33 a barrel, while European benchmark Brent crude for March was up nine cents at $105.84.
The February contract expired on Thursday.
Gold fetched $1,241.24 compared with $1,236.55 late Thursday.