Asia Pacific share market ended lower on Tuesday, 18 August 2015, on
caution ahead of US FOMC minutes from its July meeting tomorrow. Chinese
stocks led decline in Asian stocks after China's central bank took
fresh steps to offset capital outflows in the wake of a weaker currency.
The Federal Reserve minutes of the two-day policy meeting held on 28-29
July 2015 scheduled to release tomorrow, 19 August 2015. Investors want
to wait and see what happens there and if it looks like they're going to
bring forward the rate increase. Investors are refocusing attention on
the strength of the U.S. economy and its implications for Fed
interest-rate policy.
A positive handover from Wall Street overnight did little to help
sentiment. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains with a 0.9% rise overnight,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 notched up
0.4 and 0.5%, respectively, on the back of positive homebuilder data.
Among Asian bourses
Australian market falls to fresh 7-months low
The Australian share market ended steep lower after erasing early gains.
Almost all sectors ended in the red, with financial, energy and
material sectors leading losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index
declined 64.60 points, or 1.2%, to 5303.10 points, while the broader All
Ordinaries Index de-grew 59.20 points, or 1.1%, to 5309.40 points.
Nikkei ends softer
Japanese share market ended softer, as risk sentiments weighed by
weakness in other Asian stock markets and on caution ahead of US Federal
Reserve minutes of the two-day policy meeting held on 28-29 July 2015
tomorrow, 19 August 2015. The minutes could offer some clues on the
timing of the Fed's plans to raise interest rates for the first time in a
decade. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 65.79 points, or 0.32%, to
end at 20554.47 points. The broader Topix index ended 0.65 point, or
0.04%, lower at 1672.22 points.
China stocks plummet on capital outflow, yuan devaluation woes
Mainland China's stock market plummeted on increasing sign of capital
outflow amid weaker outlook for the yuan and Chinese economic growth.
Selloff momentum accelerated reigniting fears that Beijing may be intent
on a deeper devaluation of the currency. Selling was broad based, with
more than 1000 stocks fell by the maximum 10% daily limit, with large
state-owned enterprises especially hard hit. The benchmark Shanghai
Composite Index closed down 6.15%, or 245.50 points, to 3748.16 points.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second
exchange, de-grew 6.58%, or 153.07 points, to 2174.42 points. Total
volume of A shares traded in Shanghai was 72.25 billion shares, while
Shenzhen volume was 38.90billion shares.
Hong Kong market ends down
Hong Kong stock market ended down on tracking plunge in the mainland
A-share markets. Risk sentiments hurts by increasing sign of capital
outflow amid concern about the weaker outlook for the yuan and Chinese
economic growth. The Hang Seng Index ended down 339.68 points, or 1.43%,
at 23474.97 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark
measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, lost 192.19
points, or 1.75%, to 10770.05 points. Turnover increased to HK$80.8
billion from HK$65.8 billion on Monday.
Sensex falls for the 2nd day in a row
Losses for state-run companies and oil exploration and production firms
offset gains for IT stocks and oil marketing companies to push key
benchmark indices lower. The Indian barometer index, the BSE Sensex, dropped
46.73 points or 0.17% to settle at 27,831.54.
IT stocks edged higher after strong US housing data released overnight.
Cement stocks also edged higher. Shares of oil exploration &
production (E&P) firms edged lower and shares of public sector oil
marketing companies (PSU OMCs) edged higher as global crude oil prices
fell. Shares of public sector banks (PSU banks) witnessed a mixed trend.
Shares of private sector banks dropped.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs
142.34 crore yesterday, 17 August 2015, as per provisional data released
by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought
shares worth a net Rs 183.72 crore yesterday, 17 August 2015, as per
provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell
0.4% to 8177.22. South Korea's KOPSI declined 0.6% to 1956.26. New
Zealand's NZX50 dropped 0.3% to 5710.77. Singapore's Straits Times index
shed 0.6% at 3049.65. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index sank 1.6% to
4510.48. Malaysia's KLCI rose 0.5% to 1579.60.
