Asia markets drop after Wall St sell-off

Pedestrians look at a share prices board in Tokyo. Japanese stocks closed down 144.28 points to 16,229.86 yesterday.

AFP/Tokyo

Asian markets mostly fell yesterday as traders followed heavy losses on Wall Street, while the dollar bounced back against the yen after tumbling in New York.

Tokyo sank 0.88%, or 144.28 points, to 16,229.86, while Sydney dropped 1.28%, or 68.8 points, to close at 5,313.4, leaving it in negative territory for the year to date. Seoul fell 0.12%, or 2.47 points, to 2,031.64 and Hong Kong eased 0.38%, or 89.72 points, to 23,678.41.

However, Shanghai reversed morning losses to end 0.11% higher, adding 2.62 points, to 2,347.72

In other markets, Taipei lost 0.24%, or 21.77 points, to 8,989.82; Hon Hai shed 2.9% to Tw$97.1 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co fell 0.82% to Tw$121.0.

Wellington shed 0.46%, or 24.37 points, to 5,253.49; Fletcher Building was down 0.46% at NZ$8.75 and Spark slipped 1.34% to NZ$2.95.

Manila closed 0.45% lower, slipping 32.91 points to 7,261.30; Philippine Long Distance Telephone dropped 1.60% to 3,198pesos and Metropolitan Bank shed 1.49% to 86pesos, while Alliance Global eased 1.15% to 25.85 pesos.

Jakarta ended down 1.32%, or 68.82 points, at 5,132.56; Lender Bank Negara Indonesia fell 4.76% to 5,500 rupiah, while food manufacturer Indofood Sukses Makmur rose 0.36% to 6,950 rupiah.

Singapore closed up 0.04%, or 1.22 points, to 3,292.21; DBS bank rose 0.71% to Sg$18.52 while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle & Carriage eased 0.30% to Sg$43.28.

Malaysia’s key index lost 2.61 points, or 0.14%, to end at 1,840.50; Malayan Banking fell 0.3% to 9.85 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia shed 0.3% to 6.52. Utility Tenaga Nasional gained 0.2% to 12.28 ringgit.

Bangkok rose 0.51%, or 8.17 points, to 1,600.16; Bangchak Petroleum gained 3.47% to 37.25 baht, while Bumrungrad Hospital added 2.64% to 136baht.

Analysts said the losses could be partially blamed on profit-taking at the end of the quarter after a recent uptrend, while investors contemplate a weak outlook for China and Japan and the likelihood of higher US interest rates from next year.

US stocks turned negative Thursday, led by a sell-off in Apple, which has been hit by complaints about its new operating system and latest iPhone models.

The Dow tumbled 1.54% and the S&P 500 lost 1.62%.

The Nasdaq sank 1.94%.

Adding to downward pressure in New York was news that US durable goods orders plunged 18.2% in August while the Labour Department said new claims for unemployment insurance rose last week. Japan said yesterday that inflation came in at 3.1% in August.

Excluding the impact of a sales tax hike in April, the rise in core consumer prices was 1.1%, well short of the Bank of Japan’s ambitious 2.0% target for next year.

Many economists say the central bank may have to further ease monetary policy to offset the long-term impact of a sales tax hike on consumption.

The sharp fall in equities filtered through to the foreign exchange market, where the dollar slipped in US trade Thursday to ¥108.73 from ¥109.30 earlier in Tokyo.

But in afternoon exchanges yesterday, the greenback edged back ¥109. The euro was also struggling following a series of results suggesting the eurozone economy’s tepid recovery was faltering.

The euro—which hit a two-year low below $1.27 intraday Thursday—bought $1.2745 and ¥138.95 against $1.2750 and ¥138.62 in New York.

On oil markets, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was down 13 cents to $92.40 while Brent crude for November eased 28 cents to $96.72 in afternoon trade.

Gold was at 1,223.10 an ounce against $1,225.14 late Thursday.