SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday, with commodity-related stocks battered after oil and metals prices dropped sharply Thursday following weaker-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 1.6%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2% and South Korea's Kospi Composite dropped 1.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.6% and China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 12 points in screen trade.
Oil recovered slightly in Asia, with June Nymex crude oil futures up 46 cents at $100.26 per barrel on Globex, after falling a massive 8.6%, or $9.44, Thursday to its lowest settlement since March 16.
Analysts were mixed on whether the price declines marked the start of a sustained downtrend for oil and commodities.
Crude futures' sharp fall Thursday virtually removes the chance of fresh price highs for at least two months, barring a major exogenous event, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates.
However, Sydney-based RBS head of sales Justin Gallagher said: "Last night was just a knee-jerk reaction to a pop in the U.S. dollar and we saw some panic selling in commodities...It's not the start of a global economic meltdown and I wouldn't be surprised if things calm down tonight."
Commodity and oil producers across the region were lower; in Australia, BHP Billiton was down 2.0% and Rio Tinto fell 1.7% while Woodside Petroleum lost 0.6% and Origin Energy lost 1.9%.
In Japan, the Topix mining subindex was the worst performer on board with a 5.6% drop; Inpex lost 5.8% and JX Holdings fell 3.9%. In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper lost 2.6%, while its Shanghai shares shed 1.9%. In Bangkok, oil major Thai Oil fell 3.1%.
In Korea, SK Innovation was down 9.4% and S-Oil Corp. lost 7.9%. Shipbuilders were lower as the fall in crude prices dimmed hopes for an expansion of offshore oil-development projects. Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 5.2%.
Lower oil prices bolstered regional airline stocks. Australia's Qantas gained 3.4%, while Korea Air Lines advanced 2.6%. Hong Kong-listed Cathay Pacific tacked on 2.7% and Singapore Airlines rose 1.3%.
In Sydney, the market was supported by investors switching into financial plays. Among Australian banks, National Australia Bank was up 3.2% and Westpac was up 0.9%.
"It's a bit early for bottom fishing in commodity stocks, because these things tend to overshoot, but I think the bulks will hold up because the fundamentals haven't changed," said RBS Morgans investment adviser, Chris MacDonald.
In Tokyo, Honda Motor dropped 5.0% after the company expanded a previously announced recall of certain models to fix a potential airbag problem and as a stronger yen weighed. The market was also disappointed to find out over the three-day holiday that car production in the key North American market will remain limited through the summer due to parts shortages from Japan, said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager of research at Chibagin Asset Management.
Tokyo Electric Power climbed 10.8% after ventilators were switched on inside the highly contaminated No.1 reactor building at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex Thursday, but the stock remained down about 79% since the March 11 earthquake.
Spot gold was at $1,488.10 per troy ounce, up $15.00 from its New York settlement Thursday, bouncing after Thursday's $42.05 loss. London Metals Exchange base metals consolidated, taking a breather after Thursday's drop saw the LME three-month copper futures contract fall $304 to $8,819 per ton. LME copper was recently up $26 at $8,845 from London's late kerb close.
Among other markets, New Zealand's NZX-50 edged up 0.3%, Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.6%, Malaysia's KLCI slid 0.5%, Taiwan's Taiex was down 0.5%, Indonesian shares lost 0.5%, Philippine shares were down 0.7% and Thailand's SET shed 1.0%. India's Sensex jumped 1.1% after declining for nine straight sessions.
In foreign exchange markets, the yen consolidated against the euro and the dollar after climbing sharply Thursday.
The dollar was at Y80.48, from Y80.05 in late New York, and well off its U.S. session low of Y79.57. The euro was stronger against the yen, fetching Y117.09 from Y116.43, after it hit a five-week low of Y116.15 Thursday.
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