Asia Pacific share market ended mostly down on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, on
profit taking among recently outperformers, with Chinese bourses lead
declines among Asian indexes, on concern recent gains were excessive.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index fell 0.6% to 511.86.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market closes flat
The Australian share market ended virtually flat in lukewarm trade on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, amid wider than expected trade deficit data for March. The latest steps from the central bank's interest rate cut failed to boost market as cut was widely priced and heavily expected by investors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1 point, or 0.02%, to 5826.50 while the broader All Ordinaries Index was up marginal 0.30 point, or 0.01%, to 5816.20. Market turnover was relatively strong, with 1.17 billion shares changing hands worth of A$3.73 billion.
Australia posted a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of A$1.32 billion in March, compared with a deficit of A$1.61 billion in February, according to the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday. Exports fell 2% in March from February, while imports fell 2%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut the cash rate to a new record low of 2%, citing some ongoing economic weakness for its decision.
Financial stocks ended mixed. Westpac Banking Corp declined 0.9% to A$35.28 after the company reported weaker than market expected a cash profit of A$3.78 billion for the first half that was flat with last year, while net profit, which includes one-off items, was A$3.61 billion, down from A$3.62 billion in the year-ago period. ANZ Banking Group rallied 2.6% to A$34.12 after reporting an interim cash profit of A$3.68 billion, up 5%, just above market expectations. Among other top lenders, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.2% to A$88.14, but National Australia Bank lost 0.3% to A$36.1729.
Shares of mining companies ended lower, with resources giant BHP Billiton leading losses, down by 2.4% to A$32.56 after Standard & Poor's warned of a possible downgrade to the miner's credit rating, and Morningstar cut their assessment of the shares to hold from accumulate. Rio Tinto was down 2.4% to A$32.56. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.4% to A$2.46 on overnight climb for iron ore, with the benchmark spot price reported more than 1% higher.
China market tumbles amid a flurry of new share issues
Mainland China equity market ended steep lower on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, amid concern a flood of new share sales and government measures to curb speculation. The Shanghai Composite Index stumbled 181.76 points, or 4.06%, to finish at 4298.71 points, off an intraday high of 4488.87. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, de-grew 190.90 points, or 4%, to 4596.84, off an intraday high of 4785.19.
The Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday that several Chinese brokerages, including CITIC Securities Co, Haitong Securities Co and Huatai Securities Co have tightened requirements for margin financing this month in a bid to control risks
Twenty-five companies are scheduled to sell initial public offering shares from Tuesday through May 11, which may freeze 2.34 trillion yuan ($376 billion).
All ten SSE industry groups declined, with utilities issue leading retreat, with loss of 6.2%, followed by materials down 4.9%, consumer discretionary down 4.4%, financials down 4%, industrials down 3.9%, telecommunication services down 3.7%, consumer staples down 3.5%, information technology down 3.3%, energy down 3%, and healthcare down 1.8%.
The top gainers of the session on the SSE index were Datang Huayin Electric Power Co, which rose 10% to trade at CNY9.97 at the close. Meanwhile, Silver Plaza Group Co added 10% to CNY14.39, Beihai Gofar Marine Biological Industry Co was up 10% to CNY10.98, Sinovel Wind Group Co rose 10% to CNY8.57, and IRICO Display Divices Co jumped 10% to CNY15.38.
The worst performers on the Shanghai Composite were Metallurgical Corp of China, which fell 10% to CNY9.69 at the close. Nanfang Textile declined 10% to CNY14.19, Shanghai Electric Power Co dropped 10% to CNY26.16. China Gezhouba Group Co was down 10% to CNY13.22, and Yunnan Yunwei Co fell 10% to CNY8.90.
Hong Kong market ends softer
The Hong Kong stock market closed down for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, on following negative cues from Mainland A-share markets after mainland media reports of a clampdown on margin financing, and investor confidence lackluster with 2 trillion yuan locked up for IPOs this week. The Hang Seng Index declined 368.28 points or 1.31% to 27755.54, off an intra-day high of 28316.63 and day low of 27598.17. Turnover increased to HK$175.6 billion from HK$155.6 billion on Monday.
Shares of Chinese financials were generally lower. Bankcomm (03328) slid 4.2% to HK$7.73. ABC (01288) fell 3.6% to HK$4.23. BOC (03988) dropped 3.2% to HK$5.12.
Macau gaming players were mixed. MGM China (02282) put on 2% to HK$15.42 after Barclays Research lifted its target price to HK$15.6. SJM (00880) fell 1% to HK$10.08 as its 1Q revenue was said lower than consensus forecast. Sands china (01928) put on 1% to HK$33.15. Galaxy Ent (00027) gained 1.8% to HK$39.35.
Hong Kong's value of total retail sales in March, provisionally estimated at HK$38.4 billion, dropped 2.9% compared with the same month in 2014, according to the Census and Statistics Department. The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales for January and February 2015 taken together fell 2% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the first quarter of 2015, total retail sales declined 2.3% in value compared with the same period in 2014. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales in March rose 0.8% over a year earlier.
Sensex trades lower in afternoon
Indian benchmark indices edged lower after moving alternately between positive and negative zone near the flat line in early afternoon trade. At 13:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 62.17 points or 0.23% at 27,428.42. The CNX Nifty was down 24.30 points or 0.29% at 8,307.65.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower. PSU bank stocks fell. Shares of private sector banks were mixed. Telecom stocks edged higher. Defence stocks were in demand on renewed buying.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net Rs 60.53 crore yesterday, 4 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 146.80 crore yesterday, 4 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.25% to 9820.13. New Zealand's NZX50 rose 0.36% to 5787.79. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.33% at 3471.19. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index climbed up 0.37% to 5160.31. Malaysia's KLCI rose 0.5% to 1827.42. Markets in Japan, Thailand and South Korea closed for holidays.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market closes flat
The Australian share market ended virtually flat in lukewarm trade on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, amid wider than expected trade deficit data for March. The latest steps from the central bank's interest rate cut failed to boost market as cut was widely priced and heavily expected by investors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1 point, or 0.02%, to 5826.50 while the broader All Ordinaries Index was up marginal 0.30 point, or 0.01%, to 5816.20. Market turnover was relatively strong, with 1.17 billion shares changing hands worth of A$3.73 billion.
Australia posted a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of A$1.32 billion in March, compared with a deficit of A$1.61 billion in February, according to the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday. Exports fell 2% in March from February, while imports fell 2%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut the cash rate to a new record low of 2%, citing some ongoing economic weakness for its decision.
Financial stocks ended mixed. Westpac Banking Corp declined 0.9% to A$35.28 after the company reported weaker than market expected a cash profit of A$3.78 billion for the first half that was flat with last year, while net profit, which includes one-off items, was A$3.61 billion, down from A$3.62 billion in the year-ago period. ANZ Banking Group rallied 2.6% to A$34.12 after reporting an interim cash profit of A$3.68 billion, up 5%, just above market expectations. Among other top lenders, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.2% to A$88.14, but National Australia Bank lost 0.3% to A$36.1729.
Shares of mining companies ended lower, with resources giant BHP Billiton leading losses, down by 2.4% to A$32.56 after Standard & Poor's warned of a possible downgrade to the miner's credit rating, and Morningstar cut their assessment of the shares to hold from accumulate. Rio Tinto was down 2.4% to A$32.56. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.4% to A$2.46 on overnight climb for iron ore, with the benchmark spot price reported more than 1% higher.
China market tumbles amid a flurry of new share issues
Mainland China equity market ended steep lower on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, amid concern a flood of new share sales and government measures to curb speculation. The Shanghai Composite Index stumbled 181.76 points, or 4.06%, to finish at 4298.71 points, off an intraday high of 4488.87. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, de-grew 190.90 points, or 4%, to 4596.84, off an intraday high of 4785.19.
The Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday that several Chinese brokerages, including CITIC Securities Co, Haitong Securities Co and Huatai Securities Co have tightened requirements for margin financing this month in a bid to control risks
Twenty-five companies are scheduled to sell initial public offering shares from Tuesday through May 11, which may freeze 2.34 trillion yuan ($376 billion).
All ten SSE industry groups declined, with utilities issue leading retreat, with loss of 6.2%, followed by materials down 4.9%, consumer discretionary down 4.4%, financials down 4%, industrials down 3.9%, telecommunication services down 3.7%, consumer staples down 3.5%, information technology down 3.3%, energy down 3%, and healthcare down 1.8%.
The top gainers of the session on the SSE index were Datang Huayin Electric Power Co, which rose 10% to trade at CNY9.97 at the close. Meanwhile, Silver Plaza Group Co added 10% to CNY14.39, Beihai Gofar Marine Biological Industry Co was up 10% to CNY10.98, Sinovel Wind Group Co rose 10% to CNY8.57, and IRICO Display Divices Co jumped 10% to CNY15.38.
The worst performers on the Shanghai Composite were Metallurgical Corp of China, which fell 10% to CNY9.69 at the close. Nanfang Textile declined 10% to CNY14.19, Shanghai Electric Power Co dropped 10% to CNY26.16. China Gezhouba Group Co was down 10% to CNY13.22, and Yunnan Yunwei Co fell 10% to CNY8.90.
Hong Kong market ends softer
The Hong Kong stock market closed down for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, 05 May 2015, on following negative cues from Mainland A-share markets after mainland media reports of a clampdown on margin financing, and investor confidence lackluster with 2 trillion yuan locked up for IPOs this week. The Hang Seng Index declined 368.28 points or 1.31% to 27755.54, off an intra-day high of 28316.63 and day low of 27598.17. Turnover increased to HK$175.6 billion from HK$155.6 billion on Monday.
Shares of Chinese financials were generally lower. Bankcomm (03328) slid 4.2% to HK$7.73. ABC (01288) fell 3.6% to HK$4.23. BOC (03988) dropped 3.2% to HK$5.12.
Macau gaming players were mixed. MGM China (02282) put on 2% to HK$15.42 after Barclays Research lifted its target price to HK$15.6. SJM (00880) fell 1% to HK$10.08 as its 1Q revenue was said lower than consensus forecast. Sands china (01928) put on 1% to HK$33.15. Galaxy Ent (00027) gained 1.8% to HK$39.35.
Hong Kong's value of total retail sales in March, provisionally estimated at HK$38.4 billion, dropped 2.9% compared with the same month in 2014, according to the Census and Statistics Department. The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales for January and February 2015 taken together fell 2% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the first quarter of 2015, total retail sales declined 2.3% in value compared with the same period in 2014. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales in March rose 0.8% over a year earlier.
Sensex trades lower in afternoon
Indian benchmark indices edged lower after moving alternately between positive and negative zone near the flat line in early afternoon trade. At 13:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 62.17 points or 0.23% at 27,428.42. The CNX Nifty was down 24.30 points or 0.29% at 8,307.65.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower. PSU bank stocks fell. Shares of private sector banks were mixed. Telecom stocks edged higher. Defence stocks were in demand on renewed buying.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net Rs 60.53 crore yesterday, 4 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 146.80 crore yesterday, 4 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.25% to 9820.13. New Zealand's NZX50 rose 0.36% to 5787.79. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.33% at 3471.19. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index climbed up 0.37% to 5160.31. Malaysia's KLCI rose 0.5% to 1827.42. Markets in Japan, Thailand and South Korea closed for holidays.
