Asia Pacific share market closed down on Tuesday, 28 April 2015, as
profit booking triggered on following losses on Wall Street overnight,
as well as weaker than expected earnings reports from major companies
and on caution ahead of key central bank policy meetings in the United
States and Japan. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index slipped
0.4%.
Fed policy makers will begin its two-day policy-setting meeting later Tuesday, which will be closely watched for any clues on the first rate hike. The latest round of weak US data have almost put an end to talk of a mid-summer interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Traders are awaiting the end of a two-day policy meeting by the Fed, hoping it will give a clue about its timetable for raising rates. That will be followed by a meeting by the Bank of Japan, with expectations high that it will hold off any further easing of monetary policy.
Hopes of a deal between Greece and its creditors over its bailout terms provided a measure of support for the euro after Athens reshuffled its negotiating team following months of fruitless talks.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market dives 0.6%
The Australian share market ended lower , as profit booking triggered across the board after the benchmark closed at seven-year high yesterday, with shares of healthcare, energy, tech, mining, and industrials sectors being major losers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 34.20 points, or 0.57%, to 5948.50, while the broader All Ordinaries Index declined 33.30 points, or 0.56%, to 5921.50. Market turnover was relatively light, with 1.69 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.99 billion, on caution ahead of key central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan. Rising stocks under-performed declining ones, with total of 586 stocks up, while 730 stocks down.
Shares of healthcare sector was biggest drag in Sydney market on tracking weak performance of the US peers, with global blood plasma products maker CSL down 1.5% to A$93.73, while medical device maker ResMed dropped 3.9% to A$8.13 and hearing aid maker Cochlear off by 4.1% to A$85.
Financial stocks were down, with top four lenders being major losers, as a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens offering little in the way of clues as to whether the central bank would cut interest rates at its May meeting. Commonwealth Bank dropped 0.2% to A$92.58, National Australia Bank 0.2% to A$38.38, Westpac Banking Corp 1.2% to A$38.39, and ANZ Banking Group 0.5% to A$35.41.
Energy producers were down on tracking losses for crude-oil and natural-gas futures. Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum declined 0.9% to A$35.58 and Santos fell 0.6% to A$8.30. Oil Search declined 2.1% to A$8.25.
Nikkei rises 0.4%
Japanese share market advanced to fresh 15 years high, as risk sentiments boosted by a weaker yen against major currency baskets. But market gain was limited amid some weak earnings results, Fitch Ratings to cut Japan's sovereign credit rating, and on caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee and the Bank of Japan's policy setting meeting later this week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 75.63 points, or 0.38%, to finish at 20058.95. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended 8.36 points, or 0.52%, up at 1627.43.
Japan's retail sales slumped 9.7% on year in March for the third straight drop, according to preliminary retail sales data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released on Tuesday. Sales in fiscal 2014 fell 1.2% on year.
Fitch Rating has downgraded Japan's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to “A'' from “A+” as the country continues to wrestle with staggering debt. Fitch said Monday that the government did not include sufficient measures in its budget to replace a sales tax hike it put off in the current fiscal year, which ends next March. It also lowered its senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds ratings to “A'' from “A+.”
Export-related stocks were mixed. Robot-maker Fanuc Corp jumped 3.3% after saying it would double its dividend and increase its share buybacks. Shares of Suzuki Motor Corp climbed up 3.1% after its Indian joint venture Maruti Suzuki India presented a forecast-beating quarterly profit and strong outlook. Fanuc Corp surged 3.3% after doubling its dividend payout ratio. JTEKT Corp. jumped 12% as the maker of car steering systems boosted its dividend and forecast rising net income. Mazda Motor Corp was down 2.1% after its full-year operating profit missed projections. Tokyo Electron tanked 14.8% after regulatory concerns killed its planned merger with Applied Materials Inc.
Shanghai Composite drops 1.1%
Mainland China equity market ended lower, as investors elected to withdraw some profit off the table after the benchmark indices surging to seven-year high yesterday. Meanwhile, weaker than expected corporate earnings and a warning from the nation's securities regulator about the risk of investment losses weighed on sentiments. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 51.18 points, or 1.13%, to 4476.21 points. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, retreated 65.73 points, or 1.37%, to 4741.86.
Software stocks tumbled the most in Shanghai amid profit booking following strong this year's rally, with financial software developer Hundsun Technologies Inc. falling 10% daily
limit to CNY109.30. Goertek Inc., a supplier to Apple Inc., declined 5.8% to CNY32.26.
Shares of Chinese lenders climbed the most in Shanghai amid speculation that China's central bank is considering buying commercial bank assets. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 2.6% to CNY5.64 and Agricultural Bank of China jumped 2.8% to CNY4.11
Shares of materials and resources were also lower amid disappointing corporate earnings. Jiangxi Copper Co plunged 4.3% to CNY23.10 after the biggest producer of the metal reported a 61% slump in net profit to CNY134.9 million in the first quarter, as sales slid 21%. Angang Steel Co. dropped 5.1% to CNY7.69 after quarterly net income plunged to CNY19 million from last year's CNY286 million.
Shares of PetroChina declined 2.2% to CNY14.33 while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp rose 1.3% to CNY8.67, after the two oil giants dismissed the merger speculations, saying they had never received any official information about such a restructuring.
China Vanke Co shares declined 3.5% to CNY14.19 after the China's largest residential property developer yesterday reported its first-quarter core profit fell 58.9% to CNY628.7 million in the January-March period from a year earlier, as it sold and completed fewer properties. Net profit slipped 57.5% to CNY650.2 million, down from the CNY1.53 billion recorded during the same period in 2014, while revenue declined 6.4% to CNY8.9 million from the CNY9.0 billion recorded in the first quarter last year.
Hang Seng closes flat
The Hong Kong stock market finished volatile trading session fresh seven and half year high, on persistent hopes that China will unveil more monetary easing measures to boost the slowing economy. But, gain on the upside was marginal amid slide in Mainland A-share market after hitting a seven-year high yesterday and on caution before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting later this week. The Hang Seng Index ended up 9.16 points or 0.03% to 28442.75, off an intra-day high of 28548.45 and day low of 28251.99.
Shares of Citic Corp (00267) was the top blue chip winner, raising 5.8% to HK$15.72, after BofAML resumed coverage of the stock, with a "buy" rating and a target price of HK$18.
PetroChina (00857) declined 4.7% to HK$10.14 after denying talks of merger, and reported its net profit plunged 82% for the first quarter. Sinopec (00386) dipped 4.8% to HK$7.26.
Sensex snaps 3-day losing streak
Banking, auto and telecom stocks led gains for key benchmark indices. Key indices underwent high volatility during the latter part of the trading session. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains after a sharp surge in late trade. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 153.55 points or 0.56% to 27,330.54.
Index heavyweight HDFC edged higher in volatile trade. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped. Two other index heavyweights Infosys and Reliance Industries also dropped. ICICI Bank surged on renewed buying after the bank reported better-than-expected Q4 results during trading hours yesterday, 27 April 2015. Maruti Suzuki India extended previous trading session's gains triggered by the car major reporting strong Q4 earnings. Shares of public sector oil marketing companies edged higher after crude oil prices dropped.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said in an article written in a foreign newspaper that he is considering setting up a high-level committee to resolve legacy tax cases. Jaitley said that the Modi government has not been entirely successful in convincing investors of the fairness of the country's tax system. He said that the government has pledged to end the previous Indian government's record of "tax terrorism".
Meanwhile, the government has deferred a discussion on the GST constitutional amendment bill till after the passage of the finance bill in the Lok Sabha. The lower house would now take up for discussion and passage the bills on unaccounted money, land acquisition and GST from 5 to 8 May 2015, according to reports.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI fell 0.46% to 2147.67. Taiwan's Taiex index lost 0.16% to 9956.83. New Zealand's NZX50 rose 0.07% to 5769.65. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.6% at 3495.09. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index fell 0.06% to 5242.16. Malaysia's KLCI was down 0.24% to 1855.06.
Fed policy makers will begin its two-day policy-setting meeting later Tuesday, which will be closely watched for any clues on the first rate hike. The latest round of weak US data have almost put an end to talk of a mid-summer interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Traders are awaiting the end of a two-day policy meeting by the Fed, hoping it will give a clue about its timetable for raising rates. That will be followed by a meeting by the Bank of Japan, with expectations high that it will hold off any further easing of monetary policy.
Hopes of a deal between Greece and its creditors over its bailout terms provided a measure of support for the euro after Athens reshuffled its negotiating team following months of fruitless talks.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market dives 0.6%
The Australian share market ended lower , as profit booking triggered across the board after the benchmark closed at seven-year high yesterday, with shares of healthcare, energy, tech, mining, and industrials sectors being major losers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 34.20 points, or 0.57%, to 5948.50, while the broader All Ordinaries Index declined 33.30 points, or 0.56%, to 5921.50. Market turnover was relatively light, with 1.69 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.99 billion, on caution ahead of key central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan. Rising stocks under-performed declining ones, with total of 586 stocks up, while 730 stocks down.
Shares of healthcare sector was biggest drag in Sydney market on tracking weak performance of the US peers, with global blood plasma products maker CSL down 1.5% to A$93.73, while medical device maker ResMed dropped 3.9% to A$8.13 and hearing aid maker Cochlear off by 4.1% to A$85.
Financial stocks were down, with top four lenders being major losers, as a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens offering little in the way of clues as to whether the central bank would cut interest rates at its May meeting. Commonwealth Bank dropped 0.2% to A$92.58, National Australia Bank 0.2% to A$38.38, Westpac Banking Corp 1.2% to A$38.39, and ANZ Banking Group 0.5% to A$35.41.
Energy producers were down on tracking losses for crude-oil and natural-gas futures. Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum declined 0.9% to A$35.58 and Santos fell 0.6% to A$8.30. Oil Search declined 2.1% to A$8.25.
Nikkei rises 0.4%
Japanese share market advanced to fresh 15 years high, as risk sentiments boosted by a weaker yen against major currency baskets. But market gain was limited amid some weak earnings results, Fitch Ratings to cut Japan's sovereign credit rating, and on caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee and the Bank of Japan's policy setting meeting later this week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 75.63 points, or 0.38%, to finish at 20058.95. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended 8.36 points, or 0.52%, up at 1627.43.
Japan's retail sales slumped 9.7% on year in March for the third straight drop, according to preliminary retail sales data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released on Tuesday. Sales in fiscal 2014 fell 1.2% on year.
Fitch Rating has downgraded Japan's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to “A'' from “A+” as the country continues to wrestle with staggering debt. Fitch said Monday that the government did not include sufficient measures in its budget to replace a sales tax hike it put off in the current fiscal year, which ends next March. It also lowered its senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds ratings to “A'' from “A+.”
Export-related stocks were mixed. Robot-maker Fanuc Corp jumped 3.3% after saying it would double its dividend and increase its share buybacks. Shares of Suzuki Motor Corp climbed up 3.1% after its Indian joint venture Maruti Suzuki India presented a forecast-beating quarterly profit and strong outlook. Fanuc Corp surged 3.3% after doubling its dividend payout ratio. JTEKT Corp. jumped 12% as the maker of car steering systems boosted its dividend and forecast rising net income. Mazda Motor Corp was down 2.1% after its full-year operating profit missed projections. Tokyo Electron tanked 14.8% after regulatory concerns killed its planned merger with Applied Materials Inc.
Shanghai Composite drops 1.1%
Mainland China equity market ended lower, as investors elected to withdraw some profit off the table after the benchmark indices surging to seven-year high yesterday. Meanwhile, weaker than expected corporate earnings and a warning from the nation's securities regulator about the risk of investment losses weighed on sentiments. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 51.18 points, or 1.13%, to 4476.21 points. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, retreated 65.73 points, or 1.37%, to 4741.86.
Software stocks tumbled the most in Shanghai amid profit booking following strong this year's rally, with financial software developer Hundsun Technologies Inc. falling 10% daily
limit to CNY109.30. Goertek Inc., a supplier to Apple Inc., declined 5.8% to CNY32.26.
Shares of Chinese lenders climbed the most in Shanghai amid speculation that China's central bank is considering buying commercial bank assets. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 2.6% to CNY5.64 and Agricultural Bank of China jumped 2.8% to CNY4.11
Shares of materials and resources were also lower amid disappointing corporate earnings. Jiangxi Copper Co plunged 4.3% to CNY23.10 after the biggest producer of the metal reported a 61% slump in net profit to CNY134.9 million in the first quarter, as sales slid 21%. Angang Steel Co. dropped 5.1% to CNY7.69 after quarterly net income plunged to CNY19 million from last year's CNY286 million.
Shares of PetroChina declined 2.2% to CNY14.33 while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp rose 1.3% to CNY8.67, after the two oil giants dismissed the merger speculations, saying they had never received any official information about such a restructuring.
China Vanke Co shares declined 3.5% to CNY14.19 after the China's largest residential property developer yesterday reported its first-quarter core profit fell 58.9% to CNY628.7 million in the January-March period from a year earlier, as it sold and completed fewer properties. Net profit slipped 57.5% to CNY650.2 million, down from the CNY1.53 billion recorded during the same period in 2014, while revenue declined 6.4% to CNY8.9 million from the CNY9.0 billion recorded in the first quarter last year.
Hang Seng closes flat
The Hong Kong stock market finished volatile trading session fresh seven and half year high, on persistent hopes that China will unveil more monetary easing measures to boost the slowing economy. But, gain on the upside was marginal amid slide in Mainland A-share market after hitting a seven-year high yesterday and on caution before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting later this week. The Hang Seng Index ended up 9.16 points or 0.03% to 28442.75, off an intra-day high of 28548.45 and day low of 28251.99.
Shares of Citic Corp (00267) was the top blue chip winner, raising 5.8% to HK$15.72, after BofAML resumed coverage of the stock, with a "buy" rating and a target price of HK$18.
PetroChina (00857) declined 4.7% to HK$10.14 after denying talks of merger, and reported its net profit plunged 82% for the first quarter. Sinopec (00386) dipped 4.8% to HK$7.26.
Sensex snaps 3-day losing streak
Banking, auto and telecom stocks led gains for key benchmark indices. Key indices underwent high volatility during the latter part of the trading session. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains after a sharp surge in late trade. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 153.55 points or 0.56% to 27,330.54.
Index heavyweight HDFC edged higher in volatile trade. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped. Two other index heavyweights Infosys and Reliance Industries also dropped. ICICI Bank surged on renewed buying after the bank reported better-than-expected Q4 results during trading hours yesterday, 27 April 2015. Maruti Suzuki India extended previous trading session's gains triggered by the car major reporting strong Q4 earnings. Shares of public sector oil marketing companies edged higher after crude oil prices dropped.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said in an article written in a foreign newspaper that he is considering setting up a high-level committee to resolve legacy tax cases. Jaitley said that the Modi government has not been entirely successful in convincing investors of the fairness of the country's tax system. He said that the government has pledged to end the previous Indian government's record of "tax terrorism".
Meanwhile, the government has deferred a discussion on the GST constitutional amendment bill till after the passage of the finance bill in the Lok Sabha. The lower house would now take up for discussion and passage the bills on unaccounted money, land acquisition and GST from 5 to 8 May 2015, according to reports.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI fell 0.46% to 2147.67. Taiwan's Taiex index lost 0.16% to 9956.83. New Zealand's NZX50 rose 0.07% to 5769.65. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.6% at 3495.09. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index fell 0.06% to 5242.16. Malaysia's KLCI was down 0.24% to 1855.06.
