Headline equities of the Asia Pacific market mostly declined for third
straight session on Wednesday, 11 March 2015, dragged down by tracking
sharp declines on Wall Street overnight sparked by growing anxiety about
a looming U.S. interest rate hike.
Investors continued to build up expectations for Fed to drop the word "patient" in the FOMC meeting next week, after that March 17-18 meeting. Chair Janet Yellen said last month the Fed's pledge to be “patient” on starting to raise borrowing costs means an increase is unlikely for “at least the next couple” of meetings.
The prospect that the Federal Reserve interest rate hike expectation got a boost after recent data revealed a strengthening job market, most recently with a government report Tuesday that found number of U.S. job postings in January was the highest in 14 years. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said the central bank should begin to raise rates as the labor market improves.
Among Asian bourses
Mining stocks weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market closed down, following sharp declines on Wall Street overnight sparked by growing investor anxiety about a looming U.S. interest rate hike. Most of the ASX sectors dived into negative terrain, with shares of materials, bullion and energy companies being major losers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 31 points, or 0.53%, to 5793.20 and the broader All Ordinaries Index fell by 31 points, or 0.54%, to 5763.30. Market turnover was relatively healthy, with 1.81 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.72 billion. Rising stocks underperformed by declining ones, with total of 513 stocks up, while remaining 818 down.
Shares of materials and resources companies suffered the most damage in Sydney market, on tracking fall in commodity prices. Global miner BHP plunged 5% to A$30.33, as the stock traded ex-dividend. The slide in BHP alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of the drop in the benchmark index. Fortescue Metals Group declined 3.5% to A$1.95. Rio Tinto lost 1.2% to A$57.87. Newcrest Mining slumped 1.1% to A$12.29 and Perseus Mining lost 7% to A$0.265.
Energy stocks were also down on tracking drop in crude oil price in the global market. Australia's biggest oil producer, Woodside Petroleum was down 1.4% to A$34.41 and Origin Energy declined 1.7% to A$11.56. WorleyParsons was down 1.9% to A$9.22.
The big banks were also under pressure as their yield appeal fades, with Commonwealth Bank down 0.2% to A$90.52 despite a target price upgrade by Macquarie, which now expects shares to hit A$101 over the next 12 months. Westpac Banking Corp declined 0.5% to A$37.45. ANZ Banking Group lost 0.2% to A$35.22 and National Australia Bank slid 0.5% to A$37.56.
Nikkei ends 0.31% higher
Japanese share market closed session with gains, on the back of strengthening U.S. dollar against the Yen along with better-than-expected machinery orders. However, overnight losses at Wall Street and European markets on growing views that the US Fed may raise rates as soon as June, capped the gains in the Indices. The Nikkei Stock Average advanced 58.41 points, or 0.31%, to close at 18723.52. The broader Topix index grew 0.92 point, or 0.06%, to 1525.67.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies advanced the most in Tokyo, with Eisai jumping 2.9% to 7112 yen and Shionogi & Co. rising 3% to 3895 yen.
Shares of consumer lenders also higher, with Orix Corp up 2.1% to 1691.50 yen and credit guarantor Zenkoku Hosho Co. jump 3.6% to 4460 yen.
Shares of materials and resources companies declined, on tracking fall in commodity prices. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange declined 1.8% yesterday, the most in six weeks. Mitsubishi Materials lost 2.7% to 396 yen and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. fell 1.4% to 1808 yen.
Energy stocks were also down on tracking drop in crude oil price in the global market, with Inpex Corp declining 2.3% to 1371 yen and Japan Petroleum dropping 2.9% to 3820 yen.
The Cabinet Office has released Japanese machinery orders on Wednesday, showing Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 1.7% on the month to Y838.9 billion in January, the first fall in three months after +8.3% in December and +1.3% in November. Core orders rose 1.9% from a year earlier in January, the second straight rise after +11.4% in December and -14.6% in November.
The Bank of Japan released corporate goods price index (CGPI) on Wednesday, indicating CGPI rose 0.5% from a year earlier in February, accelerating from +0.3% in January, led by higher prices of auto parts and business machines.
Shanghai Composite ends 0.12% up
Mainland China share market advanced, with heavyweight of financial and civil aviation companies leading rally. However, gains on the upside was limited after release of weaker than expected economic data and concerns about tighter liquidity due to launch of 23 companies IPOs this week, potentially locking 3 trillion yuan of capital from investors subscribing for the new issues. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 4.04 points, or 0.12%, to 3290.11. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 4.04 points, or 0.11%, to 3524.65.
Investor anxiety over the health of domestic economy revived after weaker than expected economic data. China's economy showed fresh signs of sluggishness over the first two months of the year, with industrial output growth at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis despite government efforts to boost growth. Industrial output grew 6.8% in the first two months of the year compared with the same period a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, the weakest expansion since late 2008. Retail sales climbed 10.7% in the first two months, missing expectations for a 11.7% rise, while fixed-asset investment, a crucial driver of the Chinese economy, rose 13.9% in January and February from a year ago. China combines its January and February data releases for investment, retail sales and factory output to minimize distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday.
The figures came a day after data showed deflationary pressures in the factory sector intensified in February, and is likely to reinforce expectations of more interest rate cuts and other policy loosening to avert a sharper slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.
Total of six out of ten SSE industry groups declined, with energy issue leading fall, down 0.7%, followed by healthcare (down 0.7%), materials (up 0.6%), utilities (down 0.5%) industrials (up 0.1%), and information technology (down 0.1%). On the upside, financial issue rose 0.8%, consumer discretionary added 0.7%, telecommunication services rose 0.3%, and consumer staples grew 0.2%.
Hong Kong stocks down for seventh straight day
Hong Kong share market declined for seventh consecutive session, on tracking weaker global markets triggered by concerns of the US interest rates hike around midyear. The Hang Seng Index ended down 179.01 points or 0.75% to 23717.97, off an intra-day high of 23899.86 and day low of 23703.84. Turnover rose slightly to HK$78.26 billion from HK$76.9 billion on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese financial shares were mostly down, with Bank of China Ldown 0.2% and Bank of Communications Co down 0.8%. Among major mainland China insurers, China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co declined 0.6% and PICC Property & Casualty Co lost 0.4%.
Shares of civil aviation companies rose on hopes for lower fuel costs after international crude futures took a hard hit overnight in New York and London. China Southern Airlines Co gained 3.8%, China Eastern Airlines Corp rose 2%, and Air China gained 2.4%.
Several shipping shares also benefited from the oil fall and its implications for bunker fuel, with Orient Overseas International rising 3.3%, China Shipping Container Lines Co added 1.7%, and SITC International Holdings Co jumped 0.2%.
Sensex turns green
Indian benchmark indices bounced back in positive terrain in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 11.58 points or 0.04% at 28,721.45. The CNX Nifty was up 1.85 points or 0.02% at 8,713.90.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 748.13 crore yesterday, 10 March 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 290.48 crore yesterday, 10 March 2015, as per provisional data.
The preliminary data on India's balance of payments (BoP) released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after trading hours yesterday, 10 March 2015, showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $8.2 billion or 1.6% of GDP in Q3 December 2014 from $10.1 billion or 2% of GDP in Q2 September 2014.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 16 fell and the remaining shares rose. Cipla (down 2.01%), Sesa Sterlite (down 1.49%), Tata Motors (down 1.39%), ONGC (down 1.38%), Tata Steel (down 1.07%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.04%), Coal India (down 0.73%), TCS (down 0.65%), State Bank of India (down 0.5%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.5%), edged lower from the Sensex pack. Bharti Airtel (up 2.15%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.92%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.58%), NTPC (up 1.43%), Wipro (up 1.13%), HDFC (up 1.13%), GAIL (India) (up 0.90%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.90%), edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Hindalco Industries fell 4.53% to Rs 131.80 after media reports suggested that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is summoned as accused in allocation of coal block to the company. Merely being accused though doesn't mean that former PM is guilty of wrong doing though there is certain degree of suspicion. The stock hit a high of Rs 138.90 and a low of Rs 131 so far during the day.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI declined 0.2% to 1980.80. Taiwan's Taiex dropped 0.1% to 923.20. New Zealand NZX50 was down 0.4% to 5862. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index sank 0.8% to 5421. Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 0.6% at 3376.70. Malaysia's KLCI sank 0.5% to 1780.
Investors continued to build up expectations for Fed to drop the word "patient" in the FOMC meeting next week, after that March 17-18 meeting. Chair Janet Yellen said last month the Fed's pledge to be “patient” on starting to raise borrowing costs means an increase is unlikely for “at least the next couple” of meetings.
The prospect that the Federal Reserve interest rate hike expectation got a boost after recent data revealed a strengthening job market, most recently with a government report Tuesday that found number of U.S. job postings in January was the highest in 14 years. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said the central bank should begin to raise rates as the labor market improves.
Among Asian bourses
Mining stocks weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market closed down, following sharp declines on Wall Street overnight sparked by growing investor anxiety about a looming U.S. interest rate hike. Most of the ASX sectors dived into negative terrain, with shares of materials, bullion and energy companies being major losers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 31 points, or 0.53%, to 5793.20 and the broader All Ordinaries Index fell by 31 points, or 0.54%, to 5763.30. Market turnover was relatively healthy, with 1.81 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.72 billion. Rising stocks underperformed by declining ones, with total of 513 stocks up, while remaining 818 down.
Shares of materials and resources companies suffered the most damage in Sydney market, on tracking fall in commodity prices. Global miner BHP plunged 5% to A$30.33, as the stock traded ex-dividend. The slide in BHP alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of the drop in the benchmark index. Fortescue Metals Group declined 3.5% to A$1.95. Rio Tinto lost 1.2% to A$57.87. Newcrest Mining slumped 1.1% to A$12.29 and Perseus Mining lost 7% to A$0.265.
Energy stocks were also down on tracking drop in crude oil price in the global market. Australia's biggest oil producer, Woodside Petroleum was down 1.4% to A$34.41 and Origin Energy declined 1.7% to A$11.56. WorleyParsons was down 1.9% to A$9.22.
The big banks were also under pressure as their yield appeal fades, with Commonwealth Bank down 0.2% to A$90.52 despite a target price upgrade by Macquarie, which now expects shares to hit A$101 over the next 12 months. Westpac Banking Corp declined 0.5% to A$37.45. ANZ Banking Group lost 0.2% to A$35.22 and National Australia Bank slid 0.5% to A$37.56.
Nikkei ends 0.31% higher
Japanese share market closed session with gains, on the back of strengthening U.S. dollar against the Yen along with better-than-expected machinery orders. However, overnight losses at Wall Street and European markets on growing views that the US Fed may raise rates as soon as June, capped the gains in the Indices. The Nikkei Stock Average advanced 58.41 points, or 0.31%, to close at 18723.52. The broader Topix index grew 0.92 point, or 0.06%, to 1525.67.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies advanced the most in Tokyo, with Eisai jumping 2.9% to 7112 yen and Shionogi & Co. rising 3% to 3895 yen.
Shares of consumer lenders also higher, with Orix Corp up 2.1% to 1691.50 yen and credit guarantor Zenkoku Hosho Co. jump 3.6% to 4460 yen.
Shares of materials and resources companies declined, on tracking fall in commodity prices. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange declined 1.8% yesterday, the most in six weeks. Mitsubishi Materials lost 2.7% to 396 yen and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. fell 1.4% to 1808 yen.
Energy stocks were also down on tracking drop in crude oil price in the global market, with Inpex Corp declining 2.3% to 1371 yen and Japan Petroleum dropping 2.9% to 3820 yen.
The Cabinet Office has released Japanese machinery orders on Wednesday, showing Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 1.7% on the month to Y838.9 billion in January, the first fall in three months after +8.3% in December and +1.3% in November. Core orders rose 1.9% from a year earlier in January, the second straight rise after +11.4% in December and -14.6% in November.
The Bank of Japan released corporate goods price index (CGPI) on Wednesday, indicating CGPI rose 0.5% from a year earlier in February, accelerating from +0.3% in January, led by higher prices of auto parts and business machines.
Shanghai Composite ends 0.12% up
Mainland China share market advanced, with heavyweight of financial and civil aviation companies leading rally. However, gains on the upside was limited after release of weaker than expected economic data and concerns about tighter liquidity due to launch of 23 companies IPOs this week, potentially locking 3 trillion yuan of capital from investors subscribing for the new issues. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 4.04 points, or 0.12%, to 3290.11. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 4.04 points, or 0.11%, to 3524.65.
Investor anxiety over the health of domestic economy revived after weaker than expected economic data. China's economy showed fresh signs of sluggishness over the first two months of the year, with industrial output growth at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis despite government efforts to boost growth. Industrial output grew 6.8% in the first two months of the year compared with the same period a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, the weakest expansion since late 2008. Retail sales climbed 10.7% in the first two months, missing expectations for a 11.7% rise, while fixed-asset investment, a crucial driver of the Chinese economy, rose 13.9% in January and February from a year ago. China combines its January and February data releases for investment, retail sales and factory output to minimize distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday.
The figures came a day after data showed deflationary pressures in the factory sector intensified in February, and is likely to reinforce expectations of more interest rate cuts and other policy loosening to avert a sharper slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.
Total of six out of ten SSE industry groups declined, with energy issue leading fall, down 0.7%, followed by healthcare (down 0.7%), materials (up 0.6%), utilities (down 0.5%) industrials (up 0.1%), and information technology (down 0.1%). On the upside, financial issue rose 0.8%, consumer discretionary added 0.7%, telecommunication services rose 0.3%, and consumer staples grew 0.2%.
Hong Kong stocks down for seventh straight day
Hong Kong share market declined for seventh consecutive session, on tracking weaker global markets triggered by concerns of the US interest rates hike around midyear. The Hang Seng Index ended down 179.01 points or 0.75% to 23717.97, off an intra-day high of 23899.86 and day low of 23703.84. Turnover rose slightly to HK$78.26 billion from HK$76.9 billion on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese financial shares were mostly down, with Bank of China Ldown 0.2% and Bank of Communications Co down 0.8%. Among major mainland China insurers, China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co declined 0.6% and PICC Property & Casualty Co lost 0.4%.
Shares of civil aviation companies rose on hopes for lower fuel costs after international crude futures took a hard hit overnight in New York and London. China Southern Airlines Co gained 3.8%, China Eastern Airlines Corp rose 2%, and Air China gained 2.4%.
Several shipping shares also benefited from the oil fall and its implications for bunker fuel, with Orient Overseas International rising 3.3%, China Shipping Container Lines Co added 1.7%, and SITC International Holdings Co jumped 0.2%.
Sensex turns green
Indian benchmark indices bounced back in positive terrain in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 11.58 points or 0.04% at 28,721.45. The CNX Nifty was up 1.85 points or 0.02% at 8,713.90.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 748.13 crore yesterday, 10 March 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 290.48 crore yesterday, 10 March 2015, as per provisional data.
The preliminary data on India's balance of payments (BoP) released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after trading hours yesterday, 10 March 2015, showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $8.2 billion or 1.6% of GDP in Q3 December 2014 from $10.1 billion or 2% of GDP in Q2 September 2014.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 16 fell and the remaining shares rose. Cipla (down 2.01%), Sesa Sterlite (down 1.49%), Tata Motors (down 1.39%), ONGC (down 1.38%), Tata Steel (down 1.07%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.04%), Coal India (down 0.73%), TCS (down 0.65%), State Bank of India (down 0.5%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.5%), edged lower from the Sensex pack. Bharti Airtel (up 2.15%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.92%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.58%), NTPC (up 1.43%), Wipro (up 1.13%), HDFC (up 1.13%), GAIL (India) (up 0.90%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.90%), edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Hindalco Industries fell 4.53% to Rs 131.80 after media reports suggested that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is summoned as accused in allocation of coal block to the company. Merely being accused though doesn't mean that former PM is guilty of wrong doing though there is certain degree of suspicion. The stock hit a high of Rs 138.90 and a low of Rs 131 so far during the day.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI declined 0.2% to 1980.80. Taiwan's Taiex dropped 0.1% to 923.20. New Zealand NZX50 was down 0.4% to 5862. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index sank 0.8% to 5421. Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 0.6% at 3376.70. Malaysia's KLCI sank 0.5% to 1780.
